A Clean, Well-Lighted Place
A Clean, Well-Lighted Place by Ernest Hemingway published in 1926 is a great short story about life and how it is frustrating no matter how successfully you are. In this short story we see in many of Hemingway’s works like loneliness, isolation, and emptiness of modern society. Hemingway talks about a depressing view of the world, suggesting that even people who are young, happy, and satisfied will someday end up lonely, drunk, or dissatisfied.
The story starts off with two waiters waiting to close their cafe for the night. They only have one customer left an old man who is deaf and drunk. He’s their regular customer and the waiters know a lot about him including his suicide attempt that was stopped by the old mans niece. A soldier walks by with a young woman. The waiter are wondering if the soldier will pick up the old man but then they realize it doesn’t matter as long as the soldier gets what he wants from the women. The old man wants another drink so he asks the waiter to bring him another glass of whiskey. The younger waiter pours another glass, while he’s serving the old man his whiskey he suspiciously commenting that the old man should have killed himself. The older and younger waiter get into an argument on old age and how the young waiter thinks it’s a bad thing, and older waiter thinks its not as bad as it seems. The older waiter bring up a point that even though the old man is drunk he is still clean and proper, even when he’s drunk. The older man yet asks for another drink but the young waiter in hurry denies the old man because he just wants to close the cafe and go home to his wife. The old man pays and leaves the cafe drunk but with respect and orderly. After the old man has left the t...
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..." (9 Hemingway). Old age because the short story demonstrates that the old man attempt for suicide shows his willingness to escape his loneliness, which comes with age. Hemingway implies that no matter how much money you have you will most likely end up a lonely person. The best solution for this in Hemingway’s short story is that you can either commit suicide, get drunk, or go out to a well-lighted cafe. For example "I wouldn't want to be that old. An old man is a nasty thing." "Not always. This old man is clean. He drinks without spilling. Even now, drunk. Look at him" (9 Hemingway). In this example the young waiter finds the old man disgusting and the old waiter appreciates and admires the old man’s cleanliness and dignity. Morality Hemingway wants us to know that no matter how young and confident we are right now we will no matter what grow old and die one day.
In Hemingway's short story there are three characters, two waiters and their customer. Of these three, two are older men who are experiencing extreme loneliness. The customer sits alone drinking his glasses of brandy slowly, and very carefully, peacefully becoming drunk. While he is meticulously drinking his alcohol, the two waiters talk about him. They discuss his suicide attempt of the week past. The younger waiter doesn't seem to understand why a man with money would try to end his life. Although the older waiter seems to have an insight into the customer's reason, he doesn't share this with the younger one. He seems to know why this deaf old man is so depressed, and sits there alone and silent. When the younger waiter rushes the customer, the older waiter objects. He knows what it is like to go home to emptiness at night, while the younger man goes home to his wife. The older waiter remarks on the differences between him and his younger companion when he says, "I have never had confidence and I am not young.&qu...
...phants" one can conclude that Hemingway feels as if he is better than women, seeing that he is a male. The female character in this story, Jig, has repeatedly said that she does not care what happens to her, all she wants is for the American to remain by her side. Hemingway has indirectly stated that women are supposed to obey men because men are superior. In "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place" Hemingway shortly brought up the elderly man's wife in the waiters' conversation. While it was not stated, the wife has been accused for the man's suffering. The reader can conclude that Hemingway is indeed a sexist and feels superior to females. His experiences with women have not been the best, so he expresses his hatred towards them in his writing.
Ernest Hemingway is known as one of the best writers of our time. He has a unique writing style in which he manipulates the English language to use the minimum amount of words and maximize the impression on the reader. A Clean, Well-Lighted Place is a prime example of this. Here, Ernest Hemingway uses his writing style to reinforce the theme of “Nada”. The setting is simple, the characters are plain, and the dialogues among them are short and to the point. It is with the absence of similes and metaphors that the reader is able to appreciate the work for what it is.
Hemingway has created a situation where she is forced to depend on him because she is a young, immature, girl in an adult situation. It is when the American tells jig that “we will be fine afterward. Just like we were before, it is the only thing that bothers us. It’s the only thing that’s made us unhappy” that she realizes nothing will ever be the same no matter what he says. During one discussion she says “we could have everything” the man agrees, then she says “no we can’t it isn’t ours anymore and once they take it away, you can never get it back.” He says “But they haven’t taken it away” and her response is “we’ll wait and see.” The American doesn’t realize that at this point she has discovered that if he cannot love her and be happy while she is pregnant how he will ever truly love her as much as she loves him. According to Robert Barron many critics believe that the couple’s relationship has a bleak and ultimately poor ending (Barron). The older waiter in “A clean, Well-Lighted Place” is dealing with a similar situation when a wealthy old man who is a regular at the café he works at comes in after a failed suicide
Ryan, Ken. "THE CONTENTIOUS EMENDATION OF HEMINGWAY'S 'A CLEAN, WELL-LIGHTED PLACE'." The Hemingway Review 18.1 (1998): 78. Academic OneFile. Web. 8 Feb. 2014.
	Lastly, there is the old waiter. He is some where around the age of the old man that sat at the table. He definitely feels for the man at the table because he knows what it is like to be old and lonely. The waiter says, "I am of those who like to stay late at the café, with all those who do not want to go to bed. With all those who need a light for the night." The waiter knows that the café/bar is a very nice place for people at night, especially the old, because it is clean and well lit. He says, "Each night I am reluctant to close up because there may be someone who needs the café.
Ernest Hemingway's short story titled "A Clean Well-Lighted place" deals with the loneliness, isolation, and depression felt by many during the modernist period. The story takes place in a well lit café, occupied by two waiters (one old, and one young) and an old deaf man. This story is the perfect example of the modernist form because it questions the meaning of life. Joseph Gabriel, in is essay titled "The Logic of Confusion in: Hemingway's "A Clean well Lighted Place", believes that "the dominant visual image of the story is the radical contrast between the minute spot of light represented by the café and the infinite surrounding darkness outside."(Joseph Gabriel, The Logic of Confusion in: Hemingway's "A Clean well Lighted Place", Pg, 541) One can't help but compare the story to the image of moths att...
“A Clean Well-Lighted Place”, a short story written by Ernest Hemingway first appeared in a collection of short stories titled, Winner Take Nothing. Soon after the collection of stories had been published in 1933, “A Clean Well-Lighted Place quickly became one of Hemingway's most eulogized short stories. Through his excellent use of character development, Hemingway provides the reader with a lively portrayal of theme, plot, and symbolism throughout the entire piece. We are taken through a journey as we learn of an old man who sits at a cafe alone at night. The Old man is deaf, and had recently tried to commit suicide although he is a pleasant customer; the two waiters must watch him to ensure that he doesn't get too drunk, because he will leave without paying.
At first glance “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” by Ernest Hemingway is an unemotional, unfinished and simplistic narration of two waiters and an old man. However, when readers dig a little deeper for insight, they can truly see how meaningful this story actually is as Hemingway captures the source and essence of nihilistic thought, in a time of moral and religious confusion after the World War I. The post World War thinking of Hemingway and the Lost Generation in Paris was expressed and represented through his ideas, which were influenced by the ordeals of war. Due to Hemingway’s disturbing and unsettling experiences while serving in the military, he portrays the idea that all humans await an inevitable fate of eternal nothingness and everything that we value is worthless. He states that all humans will die alone and will be “in despair” about “nothing” (Hemingway 494), also that people will look for a “calm and pleasant café” (Hemingway 496) to escape from his misery. Hemingway goes on to say “[Life is] all a nothing, and a man [is] nothing too” (Hemingway, 496), undoubtedly abolishing any existence of a higher being. After observing the actions of individuals in the past three decades, Hemingway attempts to elaborate in “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” that life is about gradual despair and not continual enlightenment and that we all will eventually fade into “nada” (Hemingway 497).
Hemingway has a way of making his readers believe that the feats and strengths that his characters obtain in his novels are actually possible. Although this statement may be too critical, and maybe there is a man out there, somewhere on the coast of Cuba who at this very moment is setting out to the open sea to catch a marlin of his own. The struggle many readers have is believing the story of Santiago’s physical powers and his strength against temptation bring forward the question of whether or not The Old Man and the Sea is worthy to be called a classic. Hemingway’s Santiago brought Faulkner and millions of other readers on their knees, while to some, believed Hemingway had swung his third strike. As we look further into Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, we can analyze the criticism and complications of the character Santiago. He is portrayed as a faulty Jesus, an unrealistic and inhuman man, and again still a hero to those who cannot find happiness in their life.
In 1933, Ernest Hemmingway wrote A Clean, Well-Lighted Place. It's a story of two waiters working late one night in a cafe. Their last customer, a lonely old man getting drunk, is their last customer. The younger waiter wishes the customer would leave while the other waiter is indifferent because he isn't in so much of a hurry. I had a definite, differentiated response to this piece of literature because in my occupation I can relate to both cafe workers.
In Ernest Hemingway’s “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” and Sandra Cisneros’s “The House on Mango Street”, the authors describe their feelings towards the settings in a similar way. In Hemingway’s short story, two waiters at a café describe the differences in their lives and how they see life before them. In Cisneros’s short story, the narrator explains her past, present, and future places of residency and the impact it has in her life. Both settings in each story are different, but also very much alike, because of the people in the stories and the feeling of want and betterment that you get from both the waiters in “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” and the narrator in “The House on Mango Street”.
The Old Man and the Sea has been a time old classic by a both beloved and occasionally despised author Mr. Ernest Hemingway. In the Old Man and the Sea Symbolism and references that reflect Hemingway’s own life can be seen in many different lights, he had many ups and downs similar as Santiago’s struggles and as I have chosen to explore the suffering that can be seen in Santiago and in relation to Hemingway’s own life.
In this world, there is quote after quote after quote on people’s stances on life. Readers are exposed to those millions of opinions with every story they pick up. Ernest Hemingway shared his judgments on life through a classic novel that seems to connect to many of those readers. What seems to be his belief on life was that though this world may seem to be destined for defeat, it’s imperative in life to attain triumph, bravery, respect, and love in the end. That message in The Old Man and the Sea is exposed through the minor themes, the major, overall theme, and the symbolism in the novel that contributes to the the major theme.
Ernest Hemingway was a Nobel Prize winning Author who was forced to cope with a great deal of strife and hardship throughout his life. He served in World War 1 and sustained injuries that would shape the early years of his life. He was married to four different women, and appeared to have problems created from his desire to adventure and travel the world. In 1933 when he wrote “A Clean Well Lighted place” he was going through an adventurous time of his life, and preparing to enter his third marriage. He seemed to be dealing with problems surrounding the development of his adult life.