Ernest Hemmingway paints a picture in most of his short stories with vivid detail in characterization and continuity, each story is a classic in itself. In The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber, Hemmingway portrays three characters on a safari. There is Francis Macomber, his wife Margot and the hired hunter Robert Wilson. There is character development in all three characters as the story develops, but mostly in Francis. A story of a man who was a coward, taken advantage of by the people around him, turned it around. With the description of the Lion Hunt followed by a description of the Buffalo Hunt, Francis is publicized in two different outlooks. The first view was one of him as a coward, whose wife sees he has no heart followed by second view of him confronting his fear and overcoming it. Analyzing both hunts will help portray how Macomber develops from a coward to conqueror. .
To understand Francis Macomber, you need to look at him before. Yes, he was a very wealthy man, with many things going for him on the outside except he lacked a little thing called courage. Always being pushed around by his wife, he never really was in control of her. She did what she wanted, when she wanted and that was the end of story. She never feared him leaving because she knew he wouldn't find anyone as beautiful as she was. He never feared her for leaving because he knew she stayed because he was wealthy. Not the most honorable way to have a marriage, but that's how it was with Francis and Margot. Francis never was put into a situation where his life was in danger or face to face with any of his fears. He just lived his life as a wealthy man with no present danger of fear or risk.
The Lion Hunt was a good description of how Macomber was not ready for the encounter. He was a coward backing down at the lion and showing fear. Some can say that is a sign of having normal reaction skills, but others just say he just wasn't rising to the occasion.