The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber

Francis Macomber is the main protagonist of the story. It is his story, as the title suggests, and he undergoes significant development in the story. The hunt shapes his self-perception and others' perceptions of him; it defines him as both cowardly and courageous, bringing him both misery and bliss, and transforms him from a man-child to a man. These transformations make him a dynamic character. Macomber’s character and his transformation are shown through his actions, physical appearance, social status, and relationship to the setting.

At the start, Hemingway places him in the setting of the camp. The opening line indicates a setting of civilization and the privileges that the protagonist experiences: “It was now lunch time and they were all sitting under the double green fly of the dining tent” (115). Macomber performs no actions here. He simply sits in the shade and waits to be served. Because he is wealthy, he hires a cook, a "personal boy," a skinner, and porters to serve him at camp, as well as Wilson and the gun-bearers to serve him while he hunts. Despite his status and wealth in domestic, industrialized US spheres, from the