Conflict and Ambiguity in The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber :: essays papers

passage of arms and Ambiguity in The Short Happy demeanor of Francis Macomber I recently read Earnest Hemingways The Short Happy intent of Francis Macomber. This is a story rough a thirty-five year archaic man, Francis Macomber who is on an African safari hunt with his wife, Margot. Led by his guide, Robert Wilson, Macomber tries to let out his manhood by killing dangerous creatures. This in fact has the fine opposite effect when he humiliates himself by running from a maimed lion. Samuel Shaw stated in Earnest Hemingway, this is about often more than a hunting yarn, although it is that, too. It is a story that examines that elemental bases of the male-female relationship and the sources of human emancipation and dependence (82). The situation is complicated when Margot sleeps with Wilson and Macomber knows about it. Macomber has another chance to picture himself when they go into an island of trees to shoot a wounded buffalo. This time he stands his body politic a nd shoots repeatedly as the buffalo charges forward. Seeing the whole situation from the simple machine Margot shoots at the last instant, and in a brilliant ending by Hemmingway, misses and come upons Macomber right in the back of the head, leaving the reader to wonder, Did she mean to hit him? Prevalent in this story is Hemmingways use of the literary conventions conflict and ambiguity.Conflict is described by James H. Pickering as, The struggle or encounter inwardly the plot of two opposing forces that serves to create reader interest and perplexity (1169). This is found all throughout this story. (1169) Macomber faces both internal and external conflict. The source displays conflict between Macomber and his wife He was very wealthy, and would be more than wealthier, and he knew she would not forswear him ever now. That was one of the few things that he really knew His wife had been a spacious beauty and she was still a great beauty in Africa, but she was not a great enou gh beauty any more at home to be able to leave him and better herself and she knew it and he knew it. She had missed the chance to leave him and he knew it. If he had been better with women she would probably have started to worry about him getting another new, beautiful wife but she knew too much about him to worry about him either.