Ernest Hemingway, The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber

Verna Kale (Penn State University)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.3: American (US) Writing and Culture: The Early Twentieth-century , 1900-1945.
Vol. editors: J. Michael Duvall (College of Charleston), Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), Dale Enggass (University of Utah), Matthew Hofer (University of New Mexico), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Tony Papanikolas (San Jose State University), Justin Parks (UiT - The Arctic University of Norway), Nick Selby (University of East Anglia)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1936

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United States (Country of Origin)

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“The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” is a quintessential Hemingway tale of one man’s attempt to overcome an internal struggle by mastering the external world. Francis Macomber, hunting dangerous game in East Africa, discovers his own bravery and strength when he ignores his self-consciousness and instead relies on instinct. Though Macomber is thirty-five, his realization of his own bravery marks the true start of his life, but that life ends quickly and violently only minutes later.

Macomber, his beautiful wife Margot, and the experienced “white hunter” Robert Wilson are on safari together in East Africa (103). The wealthy Macomber has hired Wilson as his safari guide, and Wilson looks upon his two American customers with some contempt—Francis, because he is a

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1126 words

Citation: Kale, Verna. "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 20 April 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=7728, accessed 24 November 2024.]

Ernest Hemingway, The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber

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