Hunters and Their Codes of Conduct

Hunters and Their Codes of Conduct
Every hunter, hunting big or small game, has some sort of code of conduct.   This code of conduct may either be official and written down or just an unspoken code that goes without saying.   Although true, hunting big game is very different from hunting small game; both adventures still have the codes.   In the short story by Ernest Hemmingway, “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber,” Francis goes against the code of conduct countless times, showing both unsportsmanship and even immaturity.
The short story starts in a sort of uncomfortable mood where all characters are acting strange about an event that happened earlier.   In the first scene, sitting under the dining tent, Wilson begins commenting on a “damn fine lion” that Macomber must have killed.   Though the kill should make the hunters happy and energetic, the mood still stays the same; Mrs. Macomber even runs out of the tent crying.   Later in the story, the reader finds out why the characters were acting so strange.   During the lion hunt, Macomber actually breaks two codes of conduct.   One of these codes, where Macomber brakes both parts, is only taking clean, kill shots then retrieve the game and handle it properly.   During the lion hunt, Macomber doesn’t make a clean kill shot; he instead wounds the animal, causing it to suffer.   Macomber also brakes the second part of the code by asking Wilson “Why not just leave him?” meaning leave the lion to just suffer in the grass and forget about the whole episode.
After Macomber’s embarrassing lion hunt, the hunters decide to try and find buffalo.   Here both Macomber and Wilson, who is supposed to be the experienced guide and sportsman, break another code by chasing the herd of buffalo with their safari truck.   True, the team did not shoot from the truck, but a good sportsman does not use a vehicle while hunting, they only use one to get close enough to walk.   By using the vehicle to cut off the buffalo, giving them a very...