The Short Happy Life Of Francis Macomber – Essay

1. Jorg V. (2004).the short happy life of Francis Macomber. Incidents and constellations that lead to the self-discovery of Francis macomber.

This article incidents and constellations that lead to the self discovery of Francis macomber is a literal study done by Jorg VogelMann. This article explains the main themes of the exciting story of Francis Macomber who is going on a safari to Africa. The article talks about modernism and the way Francis breaks from traditional values like the starting of a new relationship between a man and a woman, this links up well with the issues in the time the author is living in. self discovery of the main three characters is brought by their constellation and the experiences they encounter in the wilderness in Africa and this too leads to the death of Francis. This article will be useful to explain modernism in contrast to traditional values.

2. George C. (2008). The short happy life of Francis Macomber. Literature and language.

In this article George chandler tells the story of Macomber, his wife Margot and his friend Wilson. The picture he brings out in this article is that, women are attracted to fearless men, this is seen when Wilson kills a lion and Margot runs to kiss him in front of her husband’s eyes. She even proceeds to sleep with Wilson that night, here the behavior of men are compared to those of wild animals because both Wilson and Macomber try to outdo each other in killing a lion so as to please Margot. Here the main criterion of evaluating manhood is the courage and strength one has to face death or rather fear. George tries to explain the kind of relationship Macomber and his wife had, that of money and beauty and nothing more.

3. Ben G. (2006). Analysis of the short happy life of Francis Macomber. Crime of opportunity.

In this article by Ben Ganther, he tries to explain whether the death of Francis is an accident or a crime of opportunity, this is left in the hands of the reader to decide. In his essay, Ganther says that the fact that Macomber dies in the hands of his wife, then this is not an accident but a crime of opportunity. In every murder there is a motive, therefore Macomber might have died or killed for he was super rich so the biggest motivation to have him dead is to have his money. Although this two have marital problems, Macomber can not divorce his wife because she is too beautiful and that is an asset and Margot too can not divorce her husband because he is very rich. Their relationship is filled with anxiety and distrust. The death of Francis is then seen as a crime of opportunity due to the greed of his Margot.

4. Karen B. (2007). Earnest Hemmingway’s, the short happy life of Francis Macomber. Confidence and conflicts.

Karen shows how Macomber attains confidence and ends up dying because of it. As the story unfolds, it is a scene of a hunting expedition in the wild in Africa and there are three characters who are Macomber and his wife Margot and a third party Wilson. Karen in this article shows the conflicts surrounding these three, first there is the conflict between Macomber and Margot, another between Macomber and Francis and the biggest between Macomber and himself for he cannot stand up to his wife. In the first two hunting expeditions, Macomber is in fear and has no confidence to kill a lion but later when he points to shoot a buffalo his confidence is seen to have grown. Because of this courage, Margot feels threatened for Macomber could end their marriage and she could end up losing his wealth, hence she kills him.

5. Josh S. (2004).Hemmingway, Ernest. The short happy life of Francis Macomber. Meaning of short happy life of Francis Macombre.

In this article, the author looks at the closing sequence of this story as it has been of great debate in the world of critics. The author of the article wonders if the shooting of Macomber by his wife Margot is intentional or is she trying to shoot the buffalo so as to protect her husband. He explains that, she is trying to kill her husband because he has become brave and too soon for that, and as a result he will have courage to leave her by divorce a thing he has not been able to do for so long. This is confirmed by Wilson when he tells Margot that, by Macomber becoming a brave man it means that he has the courage to leave her now. The title of the book therefore means that Macomber dies while he is being courageous to kill a buffalo and in his death he is freed from his oppressive wife.

6. E notes. (2011). The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber. Critical view.

This article takes on the critical of the story, by showing Francis Macomber as the hero and a consummate sports man. He is portrayed as a coward, although the author does this in sympathy and reveals tragedies which come with such definition especially in a man’s life. There is juxtaposition between Macomber and Wilson which underscores the tension between them and also the Macomber’s struggle to get and win his wife’s elusive attention. Margot’s final act of killing her husband has been a subject of great debates as to why she did such a thing. Up to now it is not easy to explain her actions.

7. Melissa H. (2009). Summary of Francis Macomber. Synopsis of Ernest Hemmingway short story.

This article explains the events as they unfold in the book, first the article shows the difficult conversation between Francis, his wife Margot and their guide Wilson .Francis insults Wilson, while Wilson observes that American women are the most hard, cruel, and attractive in the world. Later, Wilson and Macomber go for hunting leaving Margot in the tent, but this does not happen and they end up going all together. The writer goes on to tell the reality of Macomber’s life, of how is marriage is not working due to the unfaithfulness of Margot. After the incident with Wilson the previous night there is anger and more distrust in Macombers heart. In the end when they go out to hunt, they encounter a buffalo and in the process Macomber ends up dying. And the question being asked is did Margot intend to kill Macomber?

8. Ebooks3000.com. (2006). The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber.

This article shows the adventures of a classic novel by Ernest Hemmingway, the story unfolds in the wild in Africa with a wealthy man Francis Macomber and his wife Margaret shortly called Margot in a hunting expedition. Earlier Francis is seen panicking when a lion charges at him, for this his wife Margot mocks him due to his cowardice and she ends up sleeping with Wilson. The next day, the three go chasing a buffalo, Macomber and Wilson kill two and this exhilarates Macomber the more because he is no longer afraid. Afterwards they decide to follow one of the wounded buffalos in the bush but this never happens as Macomber ends up dead.

9. Alex O. (2009). The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber by Ernest Hemmingway.

According to the author, Macomber is a very unhappy man because he is a lot of fear, and for this he is labeled as a coward. Macomber can not stand up to his wife and a charging lion. He is young, wealthy and not really good looking, on the other hand his wife is smart and very attractive. These two have had a marriage full of unfaithfulness and anxiety. On the first hunting activity, Macomber seems scared but as time goes by he gains courage and can even shoot at a charging buffalo. This excites him so much but his wife is not pleased for she knows that, with this brevity her husband can divorce her, a thing he has been unable to do despite their unhappy marriage. Because of this Margot shoots her husband so that she will not loose on the wealth.

10. Christopher J. (2010).Hemmingway’s: The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber. Historical criticism.

In this article, the writer talks about the author as compared to his pieces of work. His mother’s assassination and father’s vindication made him write the story the short happy life of Francis Macomber. These roles are shown in characters like that of Wilson which portrays masculinity just like his dad and Margaret Macomber like his mother. Just like his father, Francis Macomber is a good marksman whom a son can learn from. The rest of the article tells how Macomber gets over his fear by trying to shoot a buffalo, this affects Macomber’s wife for she knows with this brevity her husband could divorce and she will lose on the wealth. Because of this reason she kills her husband.

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