The Carpe Diem Theme in Francis Macomber and the Capital of the WorldThe Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber and the Capital of the World Many of Hemingway's stories deal with the life and death. Death has even found its way into some of the titles we've read so far. However, when we talk about death, we must first look at life, or rather how a life was lived, to truly understand what death meant in a particular case. The two short stories, The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber and The Capital Of The World deal with lives cut short by a chance and accidental encounter with death, while the future departed seem to play and court death. Both also seem to have supporting characters who serve as guides of sorts on this journey. However, only one of these characters seems satisfied when cut, and that, according to Hemingway, makes all the difference. For example, in The Capital of the World, we discover the character of Paco. At the beginning of the story, Hemingway writes: “Madrid is full of boys named Paco” (29). And, as pointed out in class, Francis, in The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber, has a rather unusual name. Although "Paco" is considered common, we recognize "Francis" as a strange name for a man. The names are different, but the effect seems to be the same. Hemingway named his characters to give us an idea of ​​who they are. With “Paco” we see just another faceless boy, and with Francis we take a bad example of “Hemingway man”. These two characters are then set up to become mundane characters who may need to prove their worth. And that’s what drives each particular story. Both stories also have characters that lead each respective protagonist into their... middle of paper......; Francis Macomber's short happy life ends with Wilson saying: "'I am now,' he said, 'I was a little angry.' I had begun to love your husband'” (28). What Hemingway clearly tells us is that Macomber succeeded in achieving something. His death, although tragic, is not as tragic as Paco's. As we have said many times in class, Hemingway knows that death does indeed happen to everyone. From short stories like The Killers to novels like For Whom the Bell Tolls, death can almost even be described as a recurring character in Hemingway's work. However, the impact of death is evaluated by comparing it to life. For Macomber, death came at its peak. He fell like a man. Paco, however, lost his life before he could lose his innocence. He wasn't even given a chance to live. And this is what Hemingway considers all the more tragic. Die not like a man, but like a boy.