The Moment Of Failure In The Short Happy Life Of Francis Macomber

Success in challenges produces good thoughts and actions which create good feelings. Consequently, failed challenges produce the opposite. In this story two men and the woman, as humans, who face life as it progresses. The acceptance of each situation as they happen, prove to be either a challenge to succeed; or a failure. When failure triumphs over success, the action that follows must first be one of remorse followed by understanding. This is not the case here with the individuals in “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber.” One failed moment of courage on Macomber’s behalf leads to other’s the failure to understand; instead they reacted according to their feelings of haughtiness, shame, and betrayal.
It appears Macomber, a thirty-five …show more content…
The guide and wife draw their own conclusions of Macomber’s episode and act accordingly as their characters normally dictate. The American, Francis, is to shoot a lion. He experiences a moment of fear. His cowardly act came when he decided to retreat rather than shoot. The guide must kill the lion for the protection of everyone. The feelings and actions to follow are various, however most of them are not good. Francis brought shame upon himself. He was remorseful because he was caught in a moment of his weakness. He was not sorrowful he reacted in fear, only because others had witnessed his fear. He felt this incident needed to be hidden. He experiences disappointment in himself because he is now branded a coward, especially in his wife’s judgment. The guide failed to inform Francis that this had happened to other hunters as well. “It is a known fact in Africa, a lion hunter fears the lion three times: first when he sees the tracks, second when he hears the roar, and finally when he faces the lion” (Hemingway). This would have helped the situation, but the guide chose to do otherwise. This probably came about because of his disregard and expectations of all