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Ernest HemingwayA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
The title foreshadows the story’s conclusion, making it clear that Francis Macomber will die. However, suspense and character development arise from questions of why his life is both short and happy. Initially, Macomber lacks the courage to make his life happier, just as he lacks the courage to confront the lion.
Despite the great wealth that permits him to fund his safaris, Macomber is initially depicted as emasculated, timid, and inadequate. His money can hire a huntsman and staff to manage his safari, but it cannot provide courage, his wife's respect, or security in his manhood. His wife, Margot, controls and belittles him. She tells Wilson that her husband’s “face is never red” (117); as implied in the subtext, unlike Wilson, Macomber obeys his wife's orders and wears his hat to keep the sun off his face. He is not sunburned because he is not rugged or adventurous, but sheltered, compliant, and cautious.
Further, Margot tells the men that “it’s [her face] that’s red today” (117), indicating her shame at the lack of courage her husband demonstrated by running from the wounded lion, leaving other men to finish his job and kill it to end its suffering and protect others from the beast.
By Ernest Hemingway
A Clean, Well-Lighted Place
A Clean, Well-Lighted Place
Ernest Hemingway
Across the River and into the Trees
Across the River and into the Trees
Ernest Hemingway
A Day's Wait
A Day's Wait
Ernest Hemingway
A Farewell to Arms
A Farewell to Arms
Ernest Hemingway
A Moveable Feast
A Moveable Feast
Ernest Hemingway
A Very Short Story
A Very Short Story
Ernest Hemingway
Big Two-Hearted River
Big Two-Hearted River
Ernest Hemingway
Cat in the Rain
Cat in the Rain
Ernest Hemingway
For Whom the Bell Tolls
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Ernest Hemingway
Green Hills of Africa
Green Hills of Africa
Ernest Hemingway
Hills Like White Elephants
Hills Like White Elephants
Ernest Hemingway
In Another Country
In Another Country
Ernest Hemingway
Indian Camp
Indian Camp
Ernest Hemingway
In Our Time
In Our Time
Ernest Hemingway
Old Man at the Bridge
Old Man at the Bridge
Ernest Hemingway
Soldier's Home
Soldier's Home
Ernest Hemingway
Solider's Home
Solider's Home
Ernest Hemingway
Ten Indians
Ten Indians
Ernest Hemingway
The Garden of Eden
The Garden of Eden
Ernest Hemingway
The Killers
The Killers
Ernest Hemingway