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

Ernest Hemingway uses his unique writing style to captivate audiences with “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place.” Mainly through a few short pieces of carefully crafted dialogue that not only establish setting and push the thin plot but also convey the central theme of existentialism.

Edmund Wilson, Cleanth Brooks, Jr. and Robert Penn Warren provide a clear view to Ernest Hemingway’s writing. The criticism shows little opinion and looks deeper into the literary elements of Hemingway’s stories. In Wilson’s review of In Our Time he calls Hemingway’s work “..odd and original..”(Wilson). Wilson describes the unique quality of Hemingway’s story which involves not only a series of literary works but also “a set of brief and brutal sketches”(Wilson). These sketches involve many violent times that Hemingway had experienced I his lifetime. The word brutal would accurately describes the scenes that were drawn out and the book may have been seen as too violent for many readers at the time it was published and to this current day. Wilson believes that Hemingway’s stories follow the bases that “The condition of life is pain, and the joys of the most innocent surface are somehow tied to its stifled pangs”(Wilson). This abstract thought “in art made the beauty of Hemingway’s stories”(Wilson).

In Hemingway’s writing, he is always searching for truth, although, he often looks at the world in a nihilistic way. When reading through the authors’ short-stories or novels, he often refers to nothingness and the meaninglessness of existence. However, he also uses a practical application to repair his existential nihilistic viewpoints. Hemingway’s work is often seen as a representation of himself, and I believe that he used pragmatism as a distraction from the meaninglessness of the world. With suicide being prevalent in his family, I firmly believe that Hemingway himself strived for meaning in life, but eventually opted out because life is chaotic and there are too many unknown answers in the world. Hemingway tried to establish values and morals through pragmatism, but in reality, values are constantly changing and everything is temporary. By looking through a philosophical lens, I will demonstrate how Hemingway uses absurdism, nihilism, and pragmatism as a way to understand and interpret the world. In order to do so, I will look through Hemingway’s short-stories and novels and analyze passages critically to showcase the theories that are present in his work. In order to undertake this grand idea, I will also incorporate biographical elements to display Hemingway’s family history of suicide and to showcase his personal struggle to find meaning in the world.

Hemingway’s “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place,” like all of his other stories, is based around a famous code of behavior. The philosophical premises that are demonstrated in Hemingway’s code of behavior tell people to accept that there are no guidelines or rules in life, face reality and see things exactly as they are, no matter how difficult, contain their despair and self-pity by sheer willpower, don’t make trouble for others, and instead of judging others, people should view the unenlightened with irony and pity. By analyzing “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place,” the reader can find different examples of this code of behavior within Hemingway’s writing.

How does Ernest Hemingway’s life reflect into his writing of “A Clean Well-Lighted Place” and “The Snows of Kilimanjaro”? Of the stories the two that stood out to me were “A Clean Well-Lighted Place” and “The Snows of Kilimanjaro”. These two stories demonstrate how Hemingway writes about very dark times for people and himself. Hemingway’s experiences were involved in the writing of all three of these stories. Hemingway's life because towards the end he had troubles with himself, hallucinations, and thought people were after him. In “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” and “A Clean Well-Lighted Place”, Hemingway demonstrates hope because he uses light as imagery for people to escape insomnia and death.

Chicago. Here he made a living writing for the Toronto Star and working as a

Despair is an emotion that can rob one’s joy, inner peace, and eventually, life. The desire for serenity is usually sought after by a person whose life is futile and is at his or her wit’s end. That individual is usually left with no other alternative but to come to the realization that if he or she fails at his or her attempts (such as suicide) to alleviate despair, then the opportunity of finding peace and comfort is an alternative worth pursuing. In Ernest Hemingway’s “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place,” two of the characters became victims of despair and loneliness. The old man (the patron) saw his life as futile and attempted suicide, as a result. The older waiter, the protagonist, identifies with the old man’s desolation and both men seek to find peace and comfort in a clean, well-lighted place. Hemingway uses the setting, symbols, and theme to illustrate a futile person’s pursuit of peace and comfort in a clean, well-lighted place.

Authors use many different device and tools to develop their stories, such as characters, conflicts, themes, symbols, and even the title of their work. This is true when it comes to analysing the two short stories, which are: “Clean, Well Lighted Place” by Ernest Hemingway and “Barn Burning” by William Faulkner. The authors from both stories use and incorporate many different techniques in order to better explain the true meaning being what plot is about. Whether it be in the characters that they develop or how they are portrayed by the reader or by the setting/ location in which the piece of literature is taking place.

American novelist and short story writer Ernest Hemingway was one of the most distinguished writers in the twentieth century. Hemingway was brought up in an upper middle class family. His father was a physician and an avid sportsman who enjoyed hunting and fishing. In hopes of having his son develop the same interest in the great outdoors, young Hemingway’s father got his son a fishing rod at the age of two and his first gun at ten years old. As Ernest matured both socially and intellectually, his mother encouraged his creativity; she wanted him to enjoy life. Although Ernest’s writing style was described as ‘seamy’ and never approved by his mother, both his father’s and mother’s role in raising him shaped the kind of written he would later

Many authors, critics, and everyday social readers define Ernest Hemingway as the prime example of 20th century American literature. Hemingway’s works transcend time itself, so that even readers today analyze and criticize his works. His works, of course, have drawn praises and animosity from all corners of the globe. Critics often applause Hemingway on his short simple prose, for which many people recognize him for. His writing builds upon the masterful usage of “short, simple words and short, simple sentences” (Wagner, 3) to create clear and easy to

In human history, the qualities of man have not changed drastically, but something changed recently. The women have earned more and more power, which is a threat for the men, and society has changed for the worse. In his story “The Short, Happy Life of Francis Macomber,” Ernest Hemingway uses setting and characterization to address the attributes of a real man.

After the war, a new meaning for life was sought out and people were left with the realization that their lives were short and futile. This novel is an expression of Hemingway’s personal ideas and experiences along with the social climate of the time. It demonstrates the disillusionment of the post war society and paves the way for a new

In “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place,” the central theme that Hemingway suggested is that this older deaf man’s life is viewed as nothing. Nothing to live for and nothing more to do but sit in a café and enjoy a drink. He goes to this clean café to drink away his despair that he is unable to deal with. Even though he has the café to go to and drink he still leaves with feeling over nothingness and despair. As the older man is drinking at the café one late night, he ends up having two waiters. One of the waiters is an older man which seems to understand why the old man drinks away his despair. The young waiter on the other hand does not. As we read further into the short story, we learn a little more about the older deaf man and what he has dealt

Hemingway's world is one in which things do not grow and bear fruit, but explode, break, decompose, or are eaten away. It is saved from total misery by visions of endurance, by what happiness the body can give when it does not hurt, by interludes of love which