Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
Ernest Hemingway
The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber
Ernest Hemingway -- the Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber
The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber (Hemingway 5-28) and Ernest Hemingway's biography (Hulse) illustrate several key aspects of Ernest Hemingway's his personality. Hemingway's upbringing and observations of the characters in this short story reveal his attitudes about men, women and their relationships.
If The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber is a true indication of Ernest Hemingway's worldview, he believed in a male-centered world in which notions of cowardice and manliness were tied to violence and bravery, in which women were desirable but contemptible, and in which male-female relationships should be controlled by men
A brief biography of Hemingway's life sheds some light on his worldview. Ernest Hemingway was raised by a mother who exposed him to the Arts and by a doctor-father who was a rugged man and taught Hemingway about weapons, the outdoors and the importance of fearing nothing (Hulse). Drawn to War despite his physical limitations (particularly his eyesight), Hemingway was an ambulance driver and a canteen worker in the thick of battle, receiving severe wounds and a silver medal of valor. His personal life involved many women, including four wives and other lovers. His second marriage was reportedly a marriage for money in which he was financially supported by his wife's money while he wrote. His third marriage was to a woman who had her own career, with which Hemingway could not cope. All four of his marriages ended due to his affairs with other women. He eventually committed suicide by self-inflicted gunshot, as did his father before him (Hulse).
If...
Hemingway's concept of "Manhood" is central, violent and limited in The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber. The short story is told from the viewpoints of the two men: Wilson, who is the experienced hunter and manly man; Francis Macomber, Wilson's client who paid the hunter to take Macomber and his wife on safari. The sole woman in the story, Margot Macomber, is marginalized and observed. Through the observations, thoughts and feelings of Wilson and Macomber, Hemingway shows what he regards as contemptible, acceptable and admirable in a man.
If this short story is a true indication of Hemingway's attitude, then Hemingway believed that cowardice and manliness were tied to violence and bravery. In Hemingway's universe, a man who runs from a lion that he has deliberately wounded and is now charging at him is a coward (Hemingway 6). That coward is "miserably ashamed" of his craven behavior (Hemingway 11). Being a "bloody coward," he is barely tolerated by the manly-man hunter (Hemingway 8); however, the coward relies on the manly man to keep his cowardice a secret (Hemingway 8) and to be the guiding manly man of the group. In exchange, the coward barely tolerates the fact that the manly man had sex with the coward's wife (Hemingway 21), which the coward deserves for not controlling his wife (Hemingway 21). The coward also receives the contempt of his wife, whom he cannot control and who flatly calls him a coward (Hemingway 19). Even "the boys" who assist on safari silently know that the coward is a coward (Hemingway 7). The coward remains in this miserable state but knows that he can "fix it up" by killing buffalo on the next day of the safari (Hemingway 8). Fortunately for the coward, but unfortunately for the buffalo who do not have a vehicle and are not armed with hunting rifles, the coward grows to manhood on the next day by illegally chasing buffalo in a vehicle (Hemingway 23) and shooting them to death (Hemingway 24). After achieving manhood by slaughtering the buffalo, the former coward feels "a wild unreasonable happiness that he had never known before" (Hemingway 25).…
Works Cited
Hemingway, Ernest. The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1987. Print.
Hulse, Caroline. Ernest Hemingway. 2006. Web. 1 March 2012.
Hemingway and Women Is Ernest Hemingway a misogynist, a woman hater? Whenever one discusses Hemingway, his personal life, his literary works, this question inevitable pops up in the conversation. While it's a fascinating question, one that's fun to discuss from time to time, it's ultimately a reductive pursuit. It's reductive for two reasons (a) one can never truly know what's in another person's heart, (b) the purpose of great literature is
"One of the most frequently observed weaknesses in his work is its depiction of women. It has been observed, for example, that the central male characters of his novels tend to be about his own age at the time of writing, while their female counterparts are progressively younger, more beautiful, and more absurdly compliant toward their men" (Kennedy and Gioia, 2000). Even though his work is regarded as one the
Ernest Hemingway The author Ernest Hemingway specialized in what is known as naturalistic writing. He tells the reader only the basic information about what is going on in a particular short story or novel. Much is told about the natural settings of the stories, but very little is given about the characters in his stories. Instead, the facts about the people, including their personalities and characteristics, have to be inferred by
Hills tells the story of a young American man and his pregnant lover waiting for the train that will take them to an abortionist. In addition to the directness of speech characteristic of Hemingway's writing, Hills explores several themes characteristic of Hemingway, to include boredom, dissatisfaction, and self-destruction as a moving paralysis. "And we could have all this," she said. 'And we could have everything and every day we
The conflict is real and it is too big for him to tackle on his own, so he shuts down and checks out emotionally. Another story that deals with inner conflict is "Now I Lay Me." This story is completely internal and it becomes the narrator's way to keep from losing his mind as he fights insomnia. He is suffering from shell shock. The conflict is the narrator's inability to
Ernest Hemingway's "The Sun Also Rises'" and World War I Initially printed in 1926, The Sun Also Rises turned out to Ernest Hemingway's first huge success. Not more than ten years after the end of World War I, the novel found a way to define what his generation was like: young people that were disillusioned whose lives were deeply touched by the war. Not even Hemingway himself was any kind of