The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber by Ernest Hemingway"Death is not the greatest fear we have; our greatest fear is taking the risk of being alive." However, death is something inevitable and has certain flaws. In "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber" by Ernest Hemingway, Francis Macomber deals with the humiliation of being a coward and the constant battle for a "little boy" to come of age. Hemingway explores the theme of death through influential metaphors and symbols, ironically describing the struggle to live with fear and the search for a "happy" life. Francis Macomber must face the fear of death through his experiences on an African safari with the "whites". hunter", Robert Wilson. Margot, Macomber's sneering but beautiful wife, mocks poor Macomber for his earlier acts of cowardice with a lion. Ironically, a lion symbolizes the epitome of masculinity and power and Francis simply resembles the courage of a "rabbit". Francis fears death and shudders at the sound of the lion's roar. In "Desire for Oblivion" by David Sexton, he comments that "...people protest more often against the brevity of the life that welcome him, fear death more generally rather than worrying that it will never come." Francis, a young and rich sportsman, is afraid of facing death and confronting a lion. Ernest Hemingway describes fear through his talented hunter with a sense of callous abandonment in “A Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber,” Wilson states simply and clearly: “The worst anyone can do is kill you Hemingway” (32). uses symbols to describe the fear of his talented hunter. battle in Francis to become fearless and discover the “richness” that this can bring. Hemingway frequently repeats the world of the rock to describe the safari surroundings. It's a symbol...... middle of paper...... Margot, "He would have left you too" (36). Although Wilson states that he will report Macomber's death as accidental, it can be argued that his wife shot him intentionally. Margot had the last word, so to speak, Wilson said wryly, “It was a nice thing to do” (36). “Works Cited” Bacon, Francis. “Of death.” The Oxford Anthology of English Literature. Ed. Frank Kermode and John Hollander. New York: Oxford UP, 1973. Bloom, Harold. Ernest Hemingway. New York: Chelsea HP, 1985. Hemingway, Ernest. Ernest Hemingway's short stories. New York: Scribner, 1966.---. “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber: Introduction.” Short stories for students. Ed. Marie-Rose Napierkowski. Flight. 1. Detroit: Gale, 1998. November 25, 2007.---. “Hemingway, Ernest.” Review of a short story. 1st ed. 1988. Sexton, David. “Desire to forget.” TLS October 1. 1993: 7-8.