Ernest Hemingway once said, “The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places” (“Quotations by Author”). Unfortunately. In his lifetime, this was not the case. Hemingway did not become stronger in the end. He was a broken man, and a substantial amount of his work reflected this part of him. Of all his short stories, “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” best illustrates Hemingway’s mental digression, and the depression that plagued his everyday life. This story follows a few waiters serving a depressed, older man at their cafe, after a long day’s work. As it gets later, one waiter becomes impatient and wants to leave, while the other waiter is understanding of the customer’s struggles. Throughout the story, biographical …show more content…
Through this, he also provides clearer insight into the older waiter’s mind, unlike any of the other characters of the piece. The reader is able to understand each character through their words and actions, but Hemingway is implicit in including the older waiter’s direct thoughts. This tells the reader that the older waiter’s specific thoughts in this passage are highly significant in conveying Hemingway’s message. While the old man sits in a bar in his search for a clean and well-lighted place, Hemingway reveals his thoughts through a twisted rendition of the lord’s prayer: “Our nada who art in nada, nada be thy name thy kingdom nada thy will be nada in nada as it is in nada. Give us this nada our daily nada and nada us our nada as we nada our nadas and nada us into nada but deliver us from nada” (Hemingway 3). This bibliomancy represents the views of Hemingway and many people of the time. Between World War l and ll, this story was published. During this time, there was “a severe economic and spiritual depression” due to the the suffering the war had caused (“A Clean Well-Lighted Place”). Due to this universal struggle, a belief soon developed that became known as existentialism. This belief was basically that God doesn’t exist, and as a result, “life can have no inherent meaning.” By taking the lord’s prayer from the bible, which gives many people purpose, and calling it nothing, Hemingway is demonstrating the belief of existentialism and literally saying that life is “nada” or
The main focus of A Clean, Well-Lighted Place is on the pain of old age suffered by a man that we meet in a cafe late one night. Hemingway contrasts light and dark to show the difference between this man and the young people around him, and uses his deafness as an image of his separation from the rest of the world.
Hemingway refuses to romanticize his character. Being “tough” people, such as boxers, bullfighters, gangsters, and soldiers, they are depicted as leading a life more or less without thought. The world is full of such people, and it is unrealistic to put sublime thoughts into their heads.
In The Heath Anthology of American Literature, Volume II. Edited by Paul Lauter et al. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath and Company, 1991: 1208-1209. Hemingway, Ernest. A.
With different historical and personal experiences, Hemingway holds the view that all the people end up in this existential angst and incertainty about the existence or meaning of life, while Carver illustrates the establishment and transformation of self-awareness with connection to the world in promoting the significance of life and human existence.
... from one friend to another. The quality, the control Hemingway had in weaving his theme through his story is the work of a true master. Philosophy is never an easy subject to tackle, with it’s complex theoretical basis, it’s seeming unending list of unanswered questions, and the frustration and sadness it can bring forward. Applauding Hemingway for his attempt at divulging into his own philosophy would be an understatement and, for the most part, would mean little to the author. He comes across as this mythical figure, who’s intellect was far superior to most, but who’s own faults brought him back down to humanity, revealing that he is far more similar to most humans, a thought that, almost certainly, would have terrified him to no end.
After reading chapter two-four of the Thoughtful Writing by Dr. Hammond, I can infer three useful and powerful writing skills from the book. These are "telling fact”, “using quality statement” and “making readers draw inferences from words". I may choose this quote, which from Ernest Hemingway on Writing "I am trying to make, before I get through, a picture of the whole world---or as much of it as I have seen. Boiling it down always, rather than spreading it out thin." A powerful picture is more than an image; it can arouse viewer’s interest and make them meditate on it as well. In my opinion, Hemingway did “make a picture of the whole world,” in his novel Big Two-Hearted River, by "telling fact”, “using quality statement” and “making readers draw inferences from his words ", rather than just simply describe what he wants to say.
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
Every work in literature is open to interpretation, and every person is entitled to their opinion. In a story shorter than 1,500 words, less than that of this paper, Ernest Hemingway’s A Clean, Well-Lighted Place has garnered serious debate and criticism. Written and published in 1933, Hemingway’s story containing a theme about nothing in several contexts has definitely given many critics something to talk about, but not about the usual theme, irony, or symbolism. For the past 55 years, the critics continue to debate the conflicting dialogue between the two main characters, and whether the inconsistency was intended by Hemingway or a mistake by the original typesetter.
To begin Hemingway’s two photographs show an evolution of the young character who as time passes is withdrawing from humanity, in light of this; he becomes lonely and unable to reconnect with individuals. In fact the transformation from a member of social organization who attends a
13. Gaunt- “(of a person) lean and haggard, especially because of suffering, hunger, or age..”
Earnest Hemingway’s work gives a glimpse of how people deal with their problems in society. He conveys his own characteristics through his simple and “iceberg” writing style, his male characters’ constant urge to prove their masculinity.
The atmosphere of a well-lighted place may bring comfort to one 's darkness. With living each day, some may just live to pass time and others will live to become a greater something and to achieve. The older waiter in this story fits the characteristics of an existentialist. The older waiter has very little left in his life to look forward to, and the cafe isn 't just a job to him, its something to wake up for. "I am of those who like to stay late at the cafe" (203), "With all those who do not want to go to bed. With all those who need a light for the night" (203). These quotations from the older waiter show not only the connection he feels with the old man, sharing the same feeling. With a life filled with darkness, both the old man and older waiter, find comfort in the well-lighted cafe. Due to the conversations between both the younger waiter and older, they share vastly different perspectives on everything. The older waiter is very skeptical and does not have enough in life to cherish. Although he did not go to the extreme of trying to end his life, he lives each day dying rather than
Through the characters' dialogue, Hemingway explores the emptiness generated by pleasure-seeking actions. Throughout the beginning of the story, Hemingway describes the trivial topics that the two characters discuss. The debate about the life-changing issue of the woman's ...
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.
Ernest Hemingway is one of the most significant American authors of the Twentieth century. In 1954, Hemingway was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for mastering the art of narrative and also for the impact that he has made on contemporary style. His involvement in the First World War as an ambulance driver greatly impacted his way of thinking. Severely wounded, he returned to the States and his involvement in the war lead him to write many novels concerning its treacheries. To his suicidal death in 1961, Hemingway composed a plethora of works that centered around was a major theme.