The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber

“The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” is one of my favorite pieces of literature. My favorite part about the story is seeing Francis Macomber undergo a transformation.  “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” is an initiation story about a man who had never had his courage tested and who had never discovered a sense of manhood until he was thirty-five years old.  At the beginning, he was a coward, and, by the end, he became courageous. In Hemingway’s mind, he became a man. This transformation of a boy changing into a man through a major, dramatic event is a prevalent theme in many of Hemingway’s stories. One can see how much importance Hemingway puts on this through a few quotes he said. For example, he said, "There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self." In “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber”, this idea expressed in the quote is seen clearly in the transformation of Macomber.

At the beginning of the story, Francis Macomber’s cowardly personality shows itself in many different ways. I thought it was most evident when he his hunting the lion. After the lion escaped into the woods, Wilson told Francis that he would have to go into the brush and find the lion. Immediately Francis came up with ways he would not have to go into the brush. First, he said, “Can’t we set the grass on fire?” Then, he said, “Can’t we send beaters?” After both of these ideas were rejected, he said, “Why not leave him?” His cowardice is almost overwhelming. After the hunting embarrassment, his cowardice even revealed itself with his wife. On the way back to the camp, Margot leaned over and gave Wilson a kiss on the mouth right in front of Macomber. He just sat there and did nothing. Even worse, Margot slept with Wilson, and, when Francis tried to get angry at her and called her a b****, she responded by saying, “Well, you are a coward.”  Francis proved her right, not doing anything to her or Wilson. Francis was a truly a coward in every way.

At the end of the story, Francis underwent a dramatic change. Something came over him and he was courageous, hunting the bulls fearlessly. He even said afterward, “You know something did happen to me. I feel absolutely different.” That’s exactly what he was. He was dramatically different. Even Wilson noticed this and respected Francis a lot more before. His newfound courage was most apparent when he was not scared about going into the woods to find the wounded buffalos. He relished the opportunity. In his last courageous act, he stood firmly in front of the charging buffalo and shot him in the nose. He finally was a man and finally happy. His wife Margot even noticed this and knew this new man would leave her without hesitation. I agree with Wilson when he said that Margot shot him on purpose. It was clear that his transformation was complete.

I think many people can relate with Francis Macomber in his plight of cowardice, including myself. I believe that when a person is really happy, like Macomber was at the end, you find the courage to stand out and do something great that separates you from all other people. In Macomber’s life, he only found this courage and was happy for minutes, maybe even seconds. I contend that life is full of these short, truly happy moments. I thought about this a lot for my “otherness” paper.  I think that a person is truly happy when they find something that makes them different from another person and has the courage to be oneself completely. These moments can be simple or they can be as large as having the courage to stand up against your wife and kill a charging buffalo. The newfound courage that everyone finds is something special I think everyone tries to attain, and when you do, the feeling is pure joy and excitement.