Rhonda Massengill "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber" by Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway was born in Chicago and he was raised in a well to do family. His dad was a physician and he encouraged his son to hunt and fish. In the short story called “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” we can see a reflection of Hemingway’s childhood through some of the events in this story. At first we have men that are gathered around the camp and they are talking about their hunting expedition. Mr. Macomber was a famous fisherman and he loved hunting. He had earned a great living by fishing and he wanted to extend his wildlife experiences. He decides to take a trip to Africa to hunt wildlife with a man named Mr.Wilson. Mrs. Macomber, his wife, decides to go with him on his journey to Africa. When Mr. Macomber got there he was afraid of the lion and many of the people made fun of him. His wife is a self-centered woman and she had even made fun of her own husband. Mr.Macomber is able to conquer his fears when he is faced with the lion. Mr. Macomber shoots the lion but it is just wounded. Fear overcomes him and he doesn’t want to make sure the lion is dead. Mr. Wilson, hunter expert, tells Mr. Macomber that they can’t an injured animal in the wild it is a safety issue. Mr.Wilson convinces Mr.Macomber that he will be safe and to check on the lion. The lion is still alive and they kill the lion. Next, they (Mr.Macomber and Mr. Wilson’s team) decide to go out and kill some buffalos. They get back to the camp his wife is ashamed of him for acting like a baby. She ends up sneaking out of the tent and sleeps with Mr. Wilson. When she attempts to sneak back into the tent her husband questions her where she had been. He realizes that she had been in Mr. Wilson’s tent. Later on they go on another expedition and this time they are after a buffalo. This buffalo is what makes a man out of Mr. Macomber. He is able to face his fears conquer them. One of his fears is the fear of death. The other is the fear of his wife leaving him. He is able to conquer these fears by standing up to the fierce buffalo and defeating it.
Then we have the tragic way the author really died and the tragic way Mr. Macomber died. Both the author and the main character died at a young age. The author he died when he was thirty years old. The character in this story Mr. Macomber was killed by his wife at the end of the hunting expedition. Mr. Macomber was probably around the same age as the author when he took his life.