Francis Macomber Character Analysis

Lions, and impala, and buffalo, oh my! While on an exotic safari trip in Africa, novice hunter Francis Macomber serves as a character foil to his professional guide, Robert Wilson. An idea particularly emphasized when Macomber hastily flees when coming face to face with a lion, while Wilson chooses to stand his ground and fight. As a result, Macomber is shamed by the other characters in the story, including his own wife, whereas Wilson is praised. Therefore, in Ernest Hemingway's “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber”, the notion that a happy life is truly fulfilled when one lives a life of danger and adventure, rather than a life of running away from one’s problems is proven. This belief is especially highlighted through the contrasting …show more content…
Francis Macomber was able to hunt the impala and buffalo with ease, yet when the confrontation with the lion took place, he bolted. Thankfully, Robert Wilson cleaned up his client’s mess by finishing off the job for him. In order to firmly establish the way he perceives the quality of masculinity, Ernest Hemingway creates Francis Macomber to serve as a character foil to Robert Wilson. Qualities of a real man are established in only the way Wilson looks, thinks, and acts in certain situations. Henceforth, the more masculine figure, Wilson, is the one who survives in the end and the one who essentially ends up living a long, happy life. Nevertheless, life would be short and not so rewarding if he were a coward like Macomber. This notion that life is not worth living if one does not seek adventure is not only limited to this specific short story, as it is an idea preached in countless other stories. Ultimately masculinity aids in surviving a life filled with danger, nevertheless it is not necessarily required to live such an adventurous, long, and happy