“A Clean Well-Lighted Place” by Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) is a simple and impassive short story that almost seems to lack a plot. However, the meaning of the story is much deeper when broken down. . In the story, there is a deaf old man in a café drinking alone, staring out at nothing. There are also two waiters who watch the old man while one waiter tells the other that the old man tried to kill himself because he was in despair. It is through Hemingway’s use of language that helps put into context what life really is. The truth is hidden beneath the story revealing emotional darkness, eventual isolation, and existential depression brought on by vacancy. The theme outlined throughout the story is the meaning of life, developed by creating a sense of whether there is a meaning at all. In order for the old man to hold on and keep the nada at bay, he must have light, cleanliness, order and dignity. If all else has failed for him, he must fall back on suicide as his last option. “It was all nothing and a man was nothing. It was only that and light… and a certain cleanness and order.”(Hemingway #127). During World War I, in 1918, Hemingway served as an …show more content…
The illustration of a secluded “old man who sat in the shadow the leaves of the tree” is given numerous times in the story. (#1933). The constant use of “the old man sitting in the shadow,” shows the kind of isolated world the old man deals with and the intensity of his situation. (#1933). This is also depicted through the old man’s deafness. “He liked to sit late because he was deaf and now at night it was quiet and he felt the difference” (#1934). This shows that he is deaf to the world and not just literally deaf. The empathy of the older waiter shows the understanding he feels about the emptiness and deafness. In contrast with the younger waiter who has “youth confidence and a job” the older waiter wants “everything but work”
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.
One observation that can be made on Hemingway’s narrative technique as shown in his short stories is his clipped, spare style, which aims to produce a sense of objectivity through highly selected details. Hemingway refuses to romanticize his characters. 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 s...
Hemingway, Ernest. "Soldier's Home." The Bedford Introduction to Literature, 6th Edition. Ed. Michael Meyer. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's. 2002. 152-57.
The World War One novelist Ernest Hemingway once wrote, “There were many words you could not stand to hear and finally only the names of places had dignity. Abstract words such as glory, honor, courage, or hallow were obscene” (Hemingway, ‘A Farewell to Arms’, 1929). Hemingway knew the horrors of war. He was a veteran of World War One. This was a war where 65 million troops were mobilized, and 37 million were killed, wounded, or went missing. War was seen as glorious until these views were brought in. Hemingway became famous for his writing as a member of the ‘Lost Generation’ of American writers. He, along with writers such as Gertrude Stein, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and T. S. Eliot made up the great American writers of the time. However, they did have their European
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
reflect not only his but also the views generally shared by society (720). The uneasiness experienced by the narrator at the prospect of? [a] blind man in [his] house? is a representation of the prejudices and fears that we often face when exposed and forced to deal with strange and foreign things (720). Blindness seems especially abnormal to us because vision plays such a heavy role in our everyday?normal? lives.
Stewart, Matthew C. "Ernest Hemingway and World War I: Combatting Recent Psychobiographical Reassessments, Restoring the War." Papers on Language & Literature 36.2 (2000): 198-221.
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.
The young waiter seems selfish and inconsiderate of anyone else. In the beginning of the story, he's confused why the old man tried to kill himself. "He has plenty of money," he says, as if that's the only thing anyone needs for happiness. When the old man orders another drink, the younger waiter warns him that he'll get drunk, as if to waver his own responsibility rather than to warn the old man for his sake.
The student, Mitch Albom, (also the author) decides to fulfill the promise he had made to Morrie after graduation, of keeping in contact. He catches a flight to Massachusetts on a Tuesday and does this for the next several Tuesdays till the death of Morrie. On those Tuesdays, classes were being held, not in the all too familiar classrooms of the college, but in the intimate setting of Morrie’s home. They would write their final thesis paper on “The Meaning of Life.” The paper was to include but not be limited to the following topics: Death, Fear, Aging, Greed, Marriage, Family, Society, Forgiveness, and A Meaningful Life. Every Tuesday when Mitch would arrive he could see the brutal deterring of Morrie’s small disease infested body. Yet the spirit of this small dying man was bigger than life itself. This confused Mitch, but as the story progresses Mitch begins to comprehend why this man with only months to live is still so filled with life.
By looking at the old man, the reader can easily come up with many conclusions and symbolic interpretations. Firstly, the old age is a symbolic representation of all the aged persons, who appear discontented with their age. These individuals are more reserved and withdrawn from the rest of the society. The writer therefore omits the detailed explanations of the problems associated with advanced age and hence leaves the reader to make deductions. This means that he had the knowledge of these issues but failed to incorporate them into the story in order to make the reader understand better and develop a broader insight into the problem.
He could be described as very close-minded to anyone else 's opinions, he is a man of self-assurance. "I have confidence. I am all confidence" (Hemingway 202) He expresses in the story. This man has a family, stability, his job, and everything to look forward to. Although he contains the inability to connect with others in the story due to the lack of experience. When the older waiter said "what is an hour" he replied "more to me than him" (202) This quote shows his lack of empathy for one who does not feel worth in themself, he rushes out with no worries about anyone else 's problems. The younger waiter 's mentality consists of selfish views that since he has all he needs in life and happiness within himself that other 's lives are less important, with less meaning. He approaches the old man sitting and calling for another brandy exclaiming "You should have killed yourself last week" (201). This quote is ironic because the man could not hear the bold statement made by the younger waiter, but highlights the mentality of his that once you lose the materialistic qualities of life, it 's over. The younger waiter shows a more fatalism perspective, with expressing that everything happens for a reason and that the man was supposed to kill himself that night. Hermingway successfully created a character with opposite views to better express the
The narrator wrestles with conflicting feelings of responsibility to the old man and feelings of ridding his life of the man's "Evil Eye" (34). Although afflicted with overriding fear and derangement, the narrator still acts with quasi-allegiance toward the old man; however, his kindness may stem more from protecting himself from suspicion of watching the old man every night than from genuine compassion for the old man.
... on his interaction and communication with others. In terms of the tone of the story, it seemingly conveys the positive messages. In Cathedral, instead of monologue as in A Clean Well-lighted Place, the narrator is more likely talking to us, trying to keep us amused and engaged. Underneath the wisecracks, readers can hear a tone of sincerity and positive attitudes towards life. Though the narrator makes jokes of the blind man initially, he shows respect and do what Robert asks him to do as the story continues.
...e old man tries to kill himself: " ‘Last week he tried to commit suicide’, one waiter said" (199). Ironically, the old man is saved by his religious niece for "Fear for his soul" (200). The old man sits "in the shadow the leaves of the tree made against the electric light" (199). The man sitting in the shadow of the tree represents living in the nothingness. He lives inside of the nothingness surrounded by the artificial light, or artificial truth that he has created for himself. The only relief he has is to numb the sting of the emptiness he feels inside with brandy.