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Ernest hemingway topics, themes, and motifs
Ernest hemingway topics, themes, and motifs
Understanding of existentialism
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Popularized by philosophers like Nietzsche or Dostoyevsky, existentialism defined much of philosophical thought in the early twentieth century. Existentialism’s central idea is that life inherently has no meaning. Rather, a person personally determines what gives his or her life meaning. Typically, one finds this meaning through contributing to other peoples’ lives (ref). For example, one may find meaning through raising a family, helping impoverished people, or working for the betterment of all society through scientific or political means. Existentialist thought influenced many twentieth century artists, including author Ernest Hemingway. In one of Hemingway’s short stories, A Clean Well-Lighted Place, a middle-aged waiter and one of his …show more content…
In the last quarter of the story, the older waiter reflects that, to him, the world seems empty and meaningless. He inserts the word ‘nothing’ to the Our Father in place of the words ‘God’ and “heaven’, effectively destroying the idea of heaven and earth and, therefore, any greater spiritual meaning for humanity (Ref). While, religion may give meaning to some, even in old age, it does not give meaning to the old waiter because he is an atheist. This leaves the older waiter with no source of meaning in his life, as, like the old customer, he has no wife. While, the young man’s religion is not mentioned, atheism would not cause existential despair in him as it does the older waiter because, with his old age, the older waiter has less to distract him from thinking about the consequences of such a belief than the younger waiter. The trivial concerns of wealth and getting a proper sleep that fill the young man’s mind do not concern the old man as much because, with his age, has come the wisdom that they are trivial. Additionally, because both the older waiter and the old man do not have a wife and the old man does not even have a job, they have little to do with their time, leaving little to distract them from thoughts that cause existential anxiety. The older waiter spends his time wandering the streets, looking for a well-lit and clean bar to spend his night (Ref). As well, the old man stays at the waiters’ café because it is clean and well-lighted (Ref). Both the old man and old waiter are attracted to clean and well-lit places because they occupy the men’s time, distracting them from their thoughts. Furthermore, with old age, the older waiter better understands what would give his life meaning, a wife, and, therefore, recognizes that because he does not have wife, his life means little, which contributes to his existential despair. While the younger waiter is concerned with his daily
When our lives begin, we are innocent and life is beautiful, but as we grow older and time slowly and quickly passes we discover that not everything about life is quite so pleasing. Along with the joys and happiness we experience there is also pain, sadness and loneliness. Hemingway's "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place," and Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" both tell us about older men who are experiencing these dreadful emotions.
The Irrelevant God in A Farewell to Arms A Farewell to Arms begins with a god's-eye-view, cinematic pan of the hills surrounding Gorizia. The camera of our mind's eye, racing forward through time, sweeps up and down the landscape, catching isolated events of the first year in the town as it goes. The film ultimately slows to a crawl, passing through the window of a whorehouse to meet the eyes of Frederic Henry watching the snow falling. As we attach ourselves to Frederic Henry's perspective we turn (as he turns) back to the conversation at hand, a theological debate between the priest and Lieutenant Rinaldi.
Existentialism is just one of the many philosophies that attempt to determine the meaning of life. This idea that the world is meaningless developed in Europe around the time of World War II. Many writers and authors in the forties and fifties were affected by the horrors of war and this new philosophy, namely, Albert Camus. Existentialism is greatly reflected in Camus’ time period, culture, and works such as The Stranger.
Today in class we talked about plot in relation to "A & P" by John Updike. I had always thought of plot as just being the sequence of events, but after our reading assignment I realize that there is much more to it. I’d never thought of looking for plot in things like patterns. My reaction to "A & P" is mixed because I disagree with the main character being a hero (as Updike intended). While reading the story I thought that the girls who came into the store were merely looking for attention. I feel this way because the girls were prancing around in their bathing suits, which was probably a big deal in 1961, and the fact that ‘Queenie’ kept her money between her breasts shows that she was obviously trying to provoke a reaction. Other than the fact that one of the girls blushed when asked to leave I don’t think they were embarrassed and I don’t think the main character was trying to be particularly heroic. I gathered from all the sexual description that he was only interested in the girls physically. I also think that he just hated his job at the A & P because it was boring, since he always refers to the customers as a type of farm animal, and was just looking for an excuse to quit. What better excuse to quit than one that might make him look good to some cute girls? He would be through with his boring job and might score a date.
Existentialism as a distinct philosophical and literary movement belongs to the 19th and 20th centuries. Although existentialism is impossible to define, some of its common themes can be identified. One of the major theme is the stress on concrete individual existence and, consequently, on subjectivity, individual freedom, and choice. 19th century Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, was the first writer to call himself existential. He wrote in his journal, "I must find a truth that is true for me . . . the idea for which I can live or die.
In the story, an old man was drinking late at a cafe which was well lighted. The younger waiter wished to go home and get on with his life rather than working late. The young waiter did enjoy the company of the old man and also cursed at him. However, along with the young waiter, an older waiter also worked there late. The older waiter did not mind the old man. In fact, he understood why the old man comes to the cafe late at night to drink. Young people are represented as restless and older people are wiser and have experience under their belt. This is similar to Silvio when he was young. He was strong, reckless and less aware. Silvio did as he pleases. Nonetheless, when he got older he was not the same. He did not cared for adventures. He simply wished to live a peaceful
Existentialism is the epitome of the unknown. There is no straightforward explanation of what exactly it is, there is only certain characteristics and behaviors that describe existentialist views. Throughout today’s world, there are examples of it everywhere, it’s found in movies, books, songs, and just people in general. Existentialists are known to think and do for themselves only. They believe that to understand what it means to be human requires understanding of themselves first. Some very well known pieces of entertainment existentialism is found in are: Hamlet by William Shakespeare, The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, The Stranger by Albert Camus, and The Breakfast Club by John Hughes. The Stranger is a book written about a young man whose mother dies, which soon leads him to becoming acquainted with the feeling of not caring about what his actions do to others or himself. The main character Meursault starts helping his friend Raymond, carry out ways to torment his mistress. Out of nowhere while at the beach, Meursault shoots Raymond’s mistress’s brother. He is thrown into jail and tried, but he seems to not be affected as much as he should about his actions. He first finds it hard to live without cigarettes, women, and nature, but he soon finds out he doesn’t need any of those. After being sentenced to death, he is suggested to turn away from his atheism but later realizes that human existence has no greater meaning. This realization and acceptance is what truly makes him happy (Camus). Next, The Breakfast Club is a very relatable movie about high school students suffering the consequences of their actions in detention. The kids are all of ...
It is well lighted. The light is very good and also, now, there are shadows of the leaves” (Kennedy and Gioia, 169). The café is the mini vacation from the nothingness of life. In a world rotting with everyday monotony of nada, the café brings about the light. The light was the escape for the deaf man from the sadness and it was a clear and clean place for the older waiter.
Since the old waiter’s age is in between the young waiter and the old man, his perspective and thoughts reflect the same idea; he understands the concept of nothing, which is something the
The young waiter mentions several times about go back to home and go to sleep. However the old waiter and the old deaf man avoid staying at home by themselves. The old waiter says that there is nothing around him, and he gets nothing but a job. From this I can see the reason that the old deaf man tries to kill himself is loneliness. They don’t have a place to put their heart in.
Although the only other two people in the café at the late hour are the two waiters, the old man finds it content. The two waiters comment that although he is "A good client they knew that if he became too drunk he would leave without paying." The younger of the two waiters wants to go home. He has a wife and claims he never gets "into bed before three o’clock." He treats the deaf old man as if he were dumb. He speaks to him "with that omission of syntax stupid people employ when talking to dru...
(pg.1) Here he first explains his idea, The old man is very depressed; the young waiter could not comprehend why, he thinks in a childish manner, not yet understanding the grave truth. The old waiter knows, because he himself is beginning to see. A young person is always told that their entire lives ahead, but that’s not true. This old man woke up one day and saw his life for what it was; nothing.
And the older of the two waiters could be the embodiment of the old man in his favorite version of himself, calm and collected. This would explain why the waiter is so defensive of the young waiter’s rude comments and his deep understanding of the old man and his life’s details. The story points out many similarities between the old man and the older waiter’s personality. They both enjoy well-lighted cafes over bars, the nighttime when no one else is awake and bothering them, and they both exhibit the same
According to Hemingway, existentialism as a philosophy disciplines the individuals and guides their thoughts and believes. The old men represent this discipline by his polite behaviors and reactions toward people especially with the young waiter who exhibits rude attitudes toward his client. Additionally, the old man is not in hurry, sits silently bothering his own business, watches passing people from time to time, clean and presentable even in his worst possible conditions -drunk. Moreover, the old waiter who seems to understand the old man’s situation describes him as “a very old man walking unsteadily, but with dignity”. in other words, he is a man of morals; he respects law and never condescends people.
Existentialism is a phiosophy which revolves around the central belief that we create ourselves. External factors are not important. It is the way that we let external factors affect us that determines who we are. As individuals we all have the freedom to choose our own path and that is what life is all about. Along with the freedom of choice comes the responsibilty of one's actions which can make some people anxious but give others meaning to their lives. To overcome this anxiousness and accept responsibilty is to meet the challenges of life and to truly live it. I can adopt the existentialist approach which states that to live life is to experience happiness and absurdness and to appreciate both as a part of life.