Much of Ernest Hemingway’s writing reflects his passion for hunting and fishing. His 1952 novella, The Old Man and the Sea, captures the obsession and thrill of an old man’s pursuit of an enormous fish. His 1935 novel, Green Hills of Africa, details his safari in 1933 with his wife, Pauline. “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” is one of his many short stories in which big-game hunting plays a large role.

Just as the characters in “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” manage to hunt and kill a lion and other large game, Hemingway was a big-game hunter. During his 10-month safari in Africa, Hemingway accumulated an extensive collection of animal horns and heads (“Hemingway Adventure: Africa Safari”). His hunting experiences inspired and informed his writing, and influential newspapers and magazines frequently reported on his adventures and his marriages; these elements of his life are echoed in the story.

Throughout “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” the hired huntsman, Wilson, is referred to as the “white hunter,” a name given to hunters of European descent who made their money off big-game hunting in Africa. In the 20th century, big-game hunting was a popular pastime among the upper class in the West.