Short Happy Life Of Francis Macomber Analysis

Throughout the short story “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” written by Ernest Hemingway, the reader is being taken along a journey in which people and animals are fighting over power and dominance. From the killing of the lion and buffalo to the manipulation and infidelity, this story is full of disproportion of who and who does not have power. Watching how the fight for power effected these individuals showed the true idiosyncrasy of the people in this story. In all at the end of the it is seen that the ones with “the most power” are really the ones with almost no power at all. This story starts off with a couple coming to the Safari for a fun adventure. Margaret and Francis meet their personal professional hunter Robert Wilson to start this audacious trip. From the beginning of the story there is an obvious tension between the couple, at this point is when there is a change from happy vacation to competition to see who is the most powerful. One would say that Margaret is the powerful one just from the rude and disrespectful treatment given to Macomber throughout the story,because he is seen as a coward “He was dressed in the same sort of
Both Francis and Margaret Macomber are two people that have a dire craving for power more than anything. Either way no one can be happy if the other is happy. It is like they are in such a competition that seeing the other person happy or show any type of power over the other makes each other sick. Hemingway describes this when he says “The car was parallel to the patch of bush. Macomber, Wilson and the gun-bearer got down. Macomber, looking back, saw his wife, with the rifle by her side, looking at him. He waved to her and she did not wave back”. (Hemingway p.23 para. 10). This is a great example of how seeing the confidence of Macomber going out to find the buffalo, and how the power was reflected on someone else was