A Clean, Well Lighted Place By Ernest Hemingway

In “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” the narrator describes the importance of the cafe compared to all the other places that are open to convey the idea of loneliness and despair. Through the use of imagery, symbolism, point of view and, allegory Ernest Hemingway establishes a connection between the older waiter and the deaf guy, as he illustrates the significance the well-lit cafe brings to their lonely night. As the waiters discuss their thoughts on being open so late, the older waiter claims to be one of those who enjoy the aura of the cafe being open so late compared to other places. “With all those who do not want to go to bed. With all those who need a light for the night.“ The role the cafe plays to diminish loneliness and despair does not go unrecognized by the older waiter and deaf guy who find their escape in that clean well-lit cafe. Loneliness screams louder at night for those who walk through it by themselves. They look to find comfort in a well-lit place with a calm and pleasant aura. The feeling displayed between the old deaf man and older waiter does not register with the younger waiter who does not understand the search of finding peace found in the cafe. The younger waiter has a wife to go home to as the older deaf man and older waiter have nothing and that is their escape from their dark loneliness, the cafe. Since it is clear that Ernest Hemingway has established that the old deaf man

A Clean, Well-Lighted Place is my favorite Hemingway story, so I wrote a parody mocking Hemingway’s masterful dialogue in the piece and other Hemingway characteristics. I took a careful look at the story and remembered a quote by Hemingway describing his writing process at a café in France. The quote reads “It was a pleasant cafe, warm and clean and friendly, and I hung up my old water-proof on the coat rack to dry and put my worn and weathered felt hat on the rack above the bench and ordered a cafe au lait. The waiter brought it and I took out a notebook from the pocket of the coat and a pencil and started to write”. This quote inspired the old man in my parody to be Hemingway at his favorite café engaged in his writing process. The story of my parody is essentially a story of an elderly Hemingway seated late in his favorite cafe writing while the two waiters gather the courage to ask him to leave.

In "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place," Ernest Hemingway uses light and dark imagery along with a young vs. old motif to demonstrate that life has no meaning. The story is about a deaf old man who sits in a cafe every night and gets drunk and the waiters that must serve him. One waiter is young and arrogant while the other is a little older and is more humble and understanding of others. Throughout the story the waiters converse back and forth about what should be done about this drunk old man as it gets later and later in the night. The cafe is used as a place for those seeking quiet and the light instead of the loud dark bars.

The older waiter is the prime example of Hemingway’s idea of a hero as he does not need to deceive himself into thinking that everything is okay because he has already accepted his situation as it is. This acceptance allows him to face the “nada” of his life without any opium, unlike the younger waiter who is unhappy with his situation and always tries to change it by closing up the café before three o’clock and saying that he’s “not lonely [because he has] a wife waiting in bed for [him]” (“Light”, 289). The younger waiter “[has] everything” but is still not pleased with his life, unlike the older waiter (“Light”, 290). In contrast, the older waiter lacks “everything but work”, yet still finds tranquility in his life and helps other people, like the old man in the café (“Light”, 290). He understands and still accepts his situation, unlike the other characters in Hemingway’s stories, which Ernest Hemingway believes to be admirable and heroic. Because he does not need an opium to live with his situation, Hemingway paints the older waiter as a hero and demeans the use of opiums as

Hemingway uses a metaphor to show the reader that we are all heroes and the idea of heroism into our brains. The younger waiter goes back home and lays on his bed “He would lie in the bed and finally, with daylight, he would go to sleep. After all, he said to himself, it's probably only insomnia. Many must have it” (Hemingway). Hemingway shows the reader how everyone faces insomnia in some way just like everyone faces to be hero sometimes. The waiter relates back to how the older waiter tells him he can’t sleep and you see the older waiter as a hero. Hemingway was a soldier in the war and he had been injured in the war the image of war had given him this code of everyone is a hero. In the story as the young waiter ends his long tired day he wants to sleep but he can’t because he in someone just like the soldier who fights the hero in him is the insomnia. As a result Hemingway ends the story leaving use with this code of heroism and how everyone is a

The infamous Martin Luther King Jr. once preached, "Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal." For Ernest Hemingway, the characters that he places in his stories are forever searching for peace. Much like in life itself, the achievement of temporary peace throughout the path of a lifetime can be both minute and momentous. The writer uses the literary devices of indirect characterization, setting and symbolism in order to enhance his final classification of peace. In Hemingway's "A Clean Well-Lighted Place," the author uses literary devices to define peace, as the temporary abandonment of one's problems, assisting one to find an avenue to persevere in life.

      Hemingway's second portrayal of symbolism that a reader may distinguish is the café itself.  The café represents a sanctuary of the evilness of the world.  The namesake of the short story is a clue for the reader to see that the café would represent some form of an asylum not only from the elements of nature, but also safety from evil.  An example of the usefulness of this sanctuary is how the deaf old man uses the café as a safe-haven to be to himself after the incident where he almost succeeded in committing suicide and enjoys the comfort the café gives.  The old waiter represents in the café the kindness and caring that the café should provide; whereas the younger waiter is more of a materialistic character.  He clearly displays shallowness and selfishness.  Arthur Waldhorn writes that the older waiter helps keep the light on a little longer at the café for those, who like himself, 'do not want to go to bed.' (P 28)  The younger waiter is a protagonist in attitude of the older waiter.  The philosophy of Nihilism is brought into this theme when the older man recites the Lord's Prayer but substitutes the word "nada" for every noun in it.  Nihilism is brought onto a larger scale because it is very evident that there is nothing to believe in, even as a

Through the dialogue of “A clear, Well-Lighted Place”, Ernest Hemingway deploys a similarity between the old drunk customer and the older waiter. Their difference also sets apart the character of the older waiter to that of the younger. Once the old man to leave, the younger waiter states to the older, “You talk like an old man yourself. He can buy a bottle and drink at home” (Hemingway 169), to which the older waiter replies “It's not the same” (Hemingway 169). This develops an understanding that the older waiter, like the old drunk customer is lonely. Through their shared loneliness, the older waiter is able to connect with the old drunk customer, thus setting him apart from the younger waiter. Because the younger waiter is married and wants

Life sucks, does it not? Life is nothing and everything in life is meaningless. Perhaps there are a few things that can distract the mind and guard from the inadequacies of life, but in the end all fades away. Nothing lasts forever. While all the somethings are dying and fading, nothing is still there. Sure, one can search for meaning and think happy thoughts, but throughout the struggle everyone is alone and slowly spiraling down the path to despair. In “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place,” Hemingway uses the concept of nada, characterization, and the setting to emphasize the idea of human life being full of nothing.

Hemingway’s “A Clean Well Lighted Place” theme in his short story shows how to better understand the theme of “Story Of An Hour”. Both of the of these short stories have the concept of “ The emptiness of life.” For the old man and the older waiter, life is empty of meaning, purpose, and joy. Both try to fill the emptiness they have within themselves .The old man with alcohol and/or the cafe as well, and the waiter with the bright light of a clean cafe. Neither wants to go home, for home offers nothing or, as the waiter says in Spanish nada. In the short story the quote that best represents the emptiness of life is “It was nothing that he knew too well. It was all nothing and a man was nothing too.” In fact, everything is nada to him. Religion offers him no comfort, for he thinks religion is nada too.

Naming the short story “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” is the perfect description for what the café represents. The café is a sanctuary, therefore a little place to escape from the nothingness laying within some of the characters. A bar couldn’t compare to the beautiful, bright, clean, and calming effects the café has, consequently there is where the gentlemen and the older waiter wasn’t subjected to feel alone. They did not force themselves to be uncomfortable in a loud dark bar, and to the older waiter, drinking at the café was still somewhat dignified (Hemingway). The elderly man has a place to drink, forget about his worries even for a minute moment in the night.

Furthermore, the setting contributes to the structure of the story, like cartilages in a human body. The café can be viewed as a workplace and also as a place of peaceful socialization. Each person deals with despair differently. Having the setting at a café where it was mentioned that it was quiet help structure the story that it is neither a depressing story nor, a happy story. The two waiters who were gossiping about the old man mentioned that he had committed suicide but, he was saved. Being in a café is different than rather being in a bar or anywhere else. The café signifies a place for space or time, depending on the person. The old man is not trying to cure his despair but rather subdue it. The setting could have taken place anywhere but it also could have affected the structure of the story differently. For example, when the older waiter was out trying to kill time due to insomnia, he went to a bar but, it was not soothing; therefore, he went home. This proves how the setting was able to support its main structure of having a café rather than a different place.

After the older waiter turns off the light to the cafe and closes up, he then proceeds to carry the conversation with himself. This again, displays his loneliness. The text states, “Turning off the electric light he continue the conversation with himself. It is the light of course but it is necessary that the place be clean and pleasant. You do not want music. Certainly you do not want music. Nor can you stand before a bar with dingily although hat is all that is provided for these hours” (Hemingway, 382). He continues to convince himself that the cafe is needed for all the people who are lonely, like him, and the old man. However, it is time to close up and head home. Instead, he decides to go to a bodega. The text doesn’t overtly state why he goes to the bodega, but you can infer that he is trying to understand the younger waiter. He knows that a bodega isn’t like the cafe at all, but he is willing to give it a try. Besides, he doesn’t want to go home to nothing. The text goes on to say the following,“What did he fear? It was not fear or dread. It was a nothing that he knew too well. It was all a nothing and a man was nothing too. It was only that and light was all it needed and a certain cleanness and order” (Hemingway, 383). In order to cope with nothing, he too, needs to go to a cafe but none are open at this hour. He then goes on to say a prayer but replaces the lord, god, and religion for nothing or nada. For the older waiter, he doesn’t find meaning in religion. It

The main setting in this story is the clean and well- lighted café. Everything seems to be quite simple. It is very late and there is still one customer, an old man who earlier tried to commit suicide. He has a lot of money and comes here every night, because he is unhappy and lonely. The young waiter does not understand him, he just wants to close the café and return to his home. For him the old man is a burden. However, the old waiter knows how the customer feels, he identifies with him. Therefore the old waiter prefers café to be open for such people. The main theme is about nothingness and loneliness. Both the old waiter and the customer feel emptiness and despair. They feel overwhelmed by life and world, but the café is the place where they find solace. It is an escape from the brutal reality and from meaningless thoughts. In this story Ernest Hemingway uses ambiguity. It means that some expression or phrase is not clear enough, it has many meanings and possible interpretations. This phenomenon is visible when Hemingway refers to the old customer’s

What makes Hemingway's work such a masterpiece is its ability to make the reader relate. The theme of solitude and loneliness is experienced by every human. In Ernest Hemingway's short story “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place”, Hemingway addresses many meaningful and purposeful issues. Issues that relate to life and our purpose of life. In the story the young waiter is having the topic of life and its purpose brought upon him, he learns that others find purpose in other things and places. Things that he may find useless. Throughout the short story, Hemingway uses plenty of literary devices, symbolism and literary structure to establish the theme and mood of the story. It is important to note Hemingway’s