Ernest+Hemingway,+Hills+Like+White+Elephants

====**__Summary:__** A man named Francis Macomber, and his wife Margaret are on a Safari trip in Africa. Francis and his wife are a rich American couple of high social status who are guided by a **renown** hunter in the Safari named Robert Wilson. When the story begins all three of them are having lunch in a tent and the story says they are pretending like nothing happened. Francis was **being** congratulated about the lion that they killed earlier in the day. Margaret on the other hand doesn't seem so happy. She tells them to stop talking about the lion, and when they don't she gets upset and says, **"I wi**sh it hadn't happened", and cried her way to her tent. As it turns out Francis "bolted like a rabbit" while Robert finished **of** the lion they were hunting. Francis apologized and thought he could redeem himself when they were going to hunt buffalo the next day. The experience with the lion had been an embarrassment for Francis, and his wife was ashamed of him. That night Francis and the guide went out and hunted **Impala**; afterwards all Francis could think about was clearing away the incident with the lion. As he went to bed that night Francis lay awake listening to the night noises and the fear had came back to him from the night before. The night before he had become scared because he had heard the lion and it had seemed so close to the camp. The morning of the hunt his wife is excited to hear the lion and anxious for the hunt. Francis on the other hand tell her he is nervous. While on the hunt Francis wanted to shoot the lion from the car because he was scared but the guide told him to get out. **Francis** gets out, and nervous, **shoot**s the lion multiple times. The lion continues to gallop away into the long safari grass where he hides waiting for his enemies to come to him so he can attack. Since the lion wasn't **dead the gro**up has to find him in the grass and finish him off. Francis says that he doesn't want to go in, and he throws out the idea of them just leaving the lion there and **go**. The guide says no and Francis finally decides to go with the group to find the lion. When they fi**nd the lion it jumps o**ut the grass and charges the group while Francis runs like a coward; Wilson finishes off the lion. During the ride back to camp Francis' wife doesn't look at nor speak to him; intead she kisses the guide on the lips. His wife had done things like this before, but it never lasted because he was rich, and to him she was beautiful. They couldn't divorce each other. That night Margaret came to bed late and Francis was furious, she had been sleeping the guide. The next day it was time to hunt buffalo and Francis was angered by the previous events. That day Francis felt fearless and he wasn't afraid of what **lie** ahead. **When** hunting the buffalo Francis killed 2 and became very proud of himself. After the hunt Wilson and Francis began talking like heroes and this made Margaret angry because they chased **down** the helpless buffalo from a car. Francis, now a different person told Margaret to keep out of the conversation. She replied saying "You’ve gotten awfully brave, awfully suddenly," and this scared her. One of the natives who **were** skinning the bulls told the group a bull wasn't dead, and Francis became eager to go finish him off. While Wilson and Francis were in the fields to finish the **bull** off Margaret was in the truck holding a gun by her side. The **buffalo** charged and Francis began shooting; and then a blinding flash exploded inside his head. Francis had been shot by his wife. Margaret became hysterical realizing what she had done while the guide was teasing her about **what** she had done. She pleads for him to stop, and he does after he she says please. ====

[[image:http://auxarcspublications.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/ernest-hemingway-writing1.jpg width="366" height="319"]]

 * __Correlation:__** The themes that mostly seen in this story are courage and cowa**rdice whi**ch lead to the many conflicts surrounding Francis. The main character Francis is labeled a coward in the beginning because he runs away from the chance to kill a lion. He is embarrassed and most importantly he looses the respect of his wife. On the other h**and Wils**on is the **proffessional** hunter who would kill anyt**hing and** is very courageous. When Francis runs away from the lion it is Wilson who brings the beast down by blowing off its head. That is when Margaret ignores her husband and kisses and sleeps with **the** Wilson. Francis notices t**his and wa**nts to be more courageous like Wilson so his wife will admire and respect him more. The relationship between Francis and his wife had been declining because he doesn't show the qualities she wants in him. This has ca__used a man vs. man conflict__ in which Francis is battling for respect from his wife who is impressed by Wilson's courage. As the story goes on Francis gains more confidence and changes into a totally different p**erson who scar**es Margaret. His newfound courage may have gotten the best of him as he died while battling nature, the buffalo.


 * __Reflection:__** In the end of the story Ernest Hemingway leaves the **reader's** mind to wander. We know that Margaret shot Francis in the back of the head but we don't know if it was an accident or not. The guide Wilson says he will cover for her so she doesn't get in trouble and say it was an accident. When she realized that he was de**ad she wa**s crying hysterically. It leaves the reader to wond**er does thi**s mean it was an accident or was it an act. Francis was shot in the back of the he**ad so I would be**lieve she did it on purpose. Then **again the buff**alo was charging toward Francis so maybe she was trying to protect him but hit him instead. She did have a motive because once Francis became more **corageous** and assertive toward her she was taken aback and became scared. She may have killed him because he wasn't the man for her and she wanted better. The couple couldn't divorce because she needed him for his money, maybe killing him was the only option. For m**e it raises** the question what would people do for love and money. She really didn't love him because she was in it for the money. **the** same could be said about him because he only needed her because she was beautiful. They were both attached to each other and neither one could get away from the other. I think the only way they could have been seperated was if one was out of the picture. That is why I believe she killed him on purpose. The whole beauty of this style of writing though is the fact that it can be **interppeted** many different w**ays which mak**es it more powerful.

Hemingway is known for his simplistic style and allowing the reader to make his own decisions.