“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. As the two waiters in the cafe play close attention to the Old man the Younger waiter is clearly upset because the Old man will most likely be staying all night, and he is anxious to go home and see his wife. The Younger waiter wonders why it is that the Old man tried to kill himself and says to the deaf Old man that he should have killed himself last week, but the Old man simply asks for more brandy. After going back to the table where the two waiters had been sitting together, he asks the Older waiter why the Old man tried to kill himself. However, the Older waiter was not certain and replied by stating that it was because of despair and that he tried to hang himself and was found and cut down by his niece. Once the Old man asked for another glass of brandy the Younger waiter insists that they are closed, the Older waiter asked him why he did not let the Old man stay and have another drink. He replies by explaining yet again that he would like to go home because h... ... middle of paper ... ...be able to understand that the idea that “nothing” leads to “despair” because he isn’t lonely and old he is young and has a wife. Hemingway also seems to focus on the feeling of nothingness, not nothingness itself. The Old man found refuge in the clean well-lighted cafe, as an escape from his thoughts and knowledge that there is nothing more than human life, and the thoughts of there being no God and no Heaven. Unlike the Older waiter who found himself late at night, in the dirty uncleaned bar without the dignity that the Old man had. He depicts the idea that he will not be able to sleep to his audience by stating he has insomnia however, in reality we know that it is because he is afraid of nothingness, of darkness and of being alone, unlike the Old man who found refuge from these feelings in the …”shadow of the leaves of the tree made against the electric light.”
One week after Lennie's death, George sits in the dark corner of a bar. The room is all but empty and dead silent. All the windows are shut, through the small openings come beams of dull light that barely illuminate the room. George stares at his glass with an expressionless face, but a heavy sadness in his eyes. The bartender comes towards him and asks if he would like something else to drink.
of the world. Yet, there would come the day when he would be known as
When he was 19 Hemingway enlisted in the army. He was rejected due to a
other writers. He adds that the later novels seem more “mannered” and have less “impact” (p. 3). Comley and Scholes (1998) suggest that literary critics agreed that Hemingway’s style has undergone several changes. Cowley (1962, p. 46) argues that “by the early 1930’s Hemingway’s technique, apparently simple in the beginning, was becoming more elaborate”. Epstein (1982, p. 557) agrees that Hemingway was reduced to having produced only one good novel The Sun also Rises, some good short stories, and “the originator of once elegantly simple prose style that over the years dried up and flaked off in self-parody”. While Assadnassab (2005, p. 19) maintains that Hemingway uses “long plain words”, other critics such as Young (1966, p. 203) claim that Hemingway prefers to use short words.
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.
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.
Ernest Hemingway's short story, "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place," first published in 1933, is written in his characteristic terse, unembellished style. The definition of "Style" is "the characteristics of language in a particular story and . . . the same characteristics in a writer's complete works" (Gioa and Gwynn, "Style" 861). Short words and a curt tone are so characteristic of Hemingway's style that writers frequently parody them in "International Imitation Hemingway" contests (Gioa and Gwynn, "Style" 861). But Hemingway could only his express this story's theme -- that there is nothing beyond the here and now of daily existence, no God to embellish our lives -- in an unembellished style of writing. The somewhat empty style of this short story is not "Imitation Hemingway"; it's consistent with the story's theme of spiritual emptiness.
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.
The older waiter, on the other hand, understands despair only too well. He is saddened when the younger waiter insults the old man and is even more grieved when the younger waiter closes the café and makes the old man go home. The older waiter says to him, "You have youth, confidence, and a job. You have everything.." Although the old man has nothing to go home to or nothing to look forward to, he just has a little bit of security and comfort being able to stay a little bit longer in a clean, well-lighted place.
Hemingway, Ernest. A Clean Well-Lighted Place Literature Reading and Writing The human Experience. Donna Erickson. New York: St. Martins press, 1998. 115
In conclusion, both stories, “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” by Ernest Hemingway and “I am a zombie filled with love” by Isaac Marion, have a similar state of feelings and desires yet the turnouts are
While we discussed “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place,” by Ernest Hemingway, I do not feel as though we talked about how to story was pointing out how was life means nothing. For example, the older waiter in the end makes this clear by stating, “It was all nothing and a man was nothing too,” (Hemingway pg. 154). Also when he says nada instead of the actual prayer Our Father, which to me means he is getting rid of the meaning of God and heaven entirely. In those statements he is just writing off the meaning of his life. He thinks he is nothing and living has truly no purpose in his life. Secondly, the younger waiter accelerates through life without batting an eye. He just wants to do things faster, so he doesn’t waste time in his already shortened
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.
Oak Park, Illinois greatly influenced the writing world on July 12,1899. For on that day Grace Hemingway, the wife of Clarence Edmonds Hemingway, gave forth to the writing world a baby boy by the name of Ernest Miller Hemingway (Young 82). He would, later in his life, compose the most powerful literary impact upon the new generation of American writers with his plain, factual, but evocative style (Morris 863). No one in America would ever influence the writing world like Hemingway.