Hemingway's Code Hero: a man who lives right, honorable, has courage and the ability to remain in control, no matter the situation. This is a description of the "perfect" man, but he doesn't exist. In Hemingway's story, " The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber," he describes two men: Francis and Wilson.
Francis is a man who has been run down by his wife. He has his own opinion but doesn't always voice it to her. Francis has let her have free rain to come and go do what she wants, and doesn't fear her leaving him because of his wealth.
Wilson is a rugged man. He leads large game hunts, and is there to take up the slack if a client isn't able to finish the job. This happened with Francis twice, and his wife witnessed the incidents. She thought him to be a coward, and decided to have an affair with Wilson. This, I believe, wasn't the first affair she'd had.
The story reads on, but I feel this is enough to say something about the character of these two men. Francis may have been a coward in the hunting field, but I would run from a lion. He remained faithful in his marriage, even though, circumstances were an issue. I've been in Francis' situation. A person has to decide what's more important, self or family. I chose my family. I feel situations in life make you or break you. You can let something horrible make you stronger and learn a life lesson from it, or you can let the situation break who you are and be miserable.
Wilson is arrogant. He believes he's the perfect guy to do his job, and if another man can't kill an animal without hesitation they are a coward. My opinion of Wilson, he's a coward. Any man, who knows a woman is married and proceeds to have an affair isn't worthy to be called a man.
Life has a funny way of paying us back for mistakes. I grew up with the saying, "the truth will find you out." Meaning, sooner or later, the truth will be known. To me, life's code (not necessarily man or woman) should be live honestly. If we are honest in every walk of life we can not fail.
No comments:
Post a Comment