Strategic politeness in Hemingway's ‘the short happy life of Francis Macomber’

This analysis uses the framework of linguistic discourse analysis of politeness strategies in ordinary conversation. My major analytic tool is Penelope Brown and Stephen Levinson's Politeness: Some Universals in Language Usage, in which the authors argue that politeness strategies are used to lessen the threat of any act, verbal or otherwise, that potentially threatens the speaker or hearer's negative face (freedom) or positive face (personality). The framework of politeness strategies is especially well suited for literary interpretation, since the three determining factors for choice of politeness strategy - social distance, power and rank of imposition - are vital to the development of theme and character in literature. Power is naturally related to the theme of bravery or spurious bravery in ‘The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber’. Francis puts himself into a situation in which he could be killed precisely because he does not have the power to control his positive face. His positive face is, in fact, controlled by his wife Margot and the hunting guide Wilson, as a detailed analysis indicates. Francis, Margot, and Wilson all use politeness strategies in a complex fight for the power to control Francis's positive face, or self-image.