A Clean Well-Lighted Place
A Clean, Well-Lighted Place by Ernest Hemingway looks at age from the viewpoint of an inexperienced and experienced individual, with the aid of an old man to emphasize the difference between the two. This story takes place late one night in a caf. The caf is clean, pleasant, and well lighted, which brings some kind of comfort to the atmosphere. Here in the caf sits a deaf, lonely, older man, who although is deaf can feel the difference that the night brings to the caf, a younger waiter, who believes people stay around the caf to make his life miserable, and a waiter who is a bit older and seems to understand that this place, the caf, is comforting. The older man spends his late nights in the caf, because at
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The dialog about the couple between the two waiters is classic. The older waiter states, The guard will pick him up, then the younger waiter goes on to say What does it matter if he gets what he is after? I believe this conversation shows a dramatic difference in age between these two men, while the older waiter knows and thinks about the consequences and effects his actions will place upon him, the younger waiter does not and lives for the moment, which is a typical characteristic of youth. As one grows older they come to realize the differences in living for the moment and living for the moment in a rational way. One can still live for the moment and be spontaneous but do it in a way that it will not have high consequences upon others. Late into the night the younger waiter cuts the old man off of the brandy so he could lock up and get home to his own wife. The young man believes his time is too valuable to waste on people whom have nobody or nowhere to go. What is an hour? More to me than to him. This young man does not actually believe that his time is more precious than the old mans time; he was just in a hurry. What is the difference of getting home to your wife at 2am or 3am? The only difference that I notice when it is already that late is the number on the clock. The two waiters then go on to discuss the characteristics between a young and older person, using themselves as the symbols to
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
The younger waiter believes he has “no regard for those who have to work.” On the contrary the older waiter also doesn’t belong to a family and attempts to explain “he stays up because he likes it” “it’s clean and well lighted” the light acting as a metaphorical parallel to the comfort the café offers in his otherwise dark life. Seeing as the older waiter understands him he does his best to make the customer feel he belongs and build a relationship with him. He realises that not everyone shares the same perspective realising “it’s not only a question of youth” but in this case a question of lack of relationships allowing sympathy and explaining his actions.
The young waiter has a harsh view of him as well because on occasion the old man has been so drunk he walks out on his bill. The younger waiter has a different respect for time, it’s precious to him and he values it. “I wish he would go home. I never get to bed before three o’clock. What kind of hour is that to go to bed?” “He stays up because he likes it.” “He’s lonely, I’m not lonely. I have a wife waiting in bed for me.” “He had a wife once too” (153). The older you get, the more time wears down on you, and you begin to now, greater than ever, feel your mortality. This theme is used to help the reader understand the older mans pain and that no matter how young and confident someone is, they will eventually grow old and die.
In “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place,” experience characterizes the older waiter because he empathizes with those around him, thereby proving that enduring hardships encourages greater acceptance of others. By explaining how he is different from the young waiter, the older waiter clarifies why he disagrees with the young waiter’s decision to force the deaf customer to leave: “I have never had confidence and I’m not young. … I am of those who like to stay late at the cafe. … With all those who do not want to go to bed. With all those who need a light for the night” (Hemingway 9). Without the overconfidence of the young waiter, the older waiter has humility, a trait that allows him to develop empathy through his life experience. Also, the waiter is older, so he persevered through more difficult situations than the young waiter. Since he undergoes the same sleeplessness that the deaf man faces, the older waiter willingly sacrifices his time because he notices the importance of his job at the cafe to other people. Furthermore, the older waiter acknowledges the importance of the cafe to those like him when he describes that “[e]ach night [he is] reluctant to close up because there may be some one who needs the cafe. … This is a clean and pleasant cafe. It is well lighted. The light is very good and also, now, there are shadows of the leaves” (Hemingway 9). Unlike
There are three main characters in this short story. A young waiter, an older waiter and a lonely old man. The younger waiter can describe himself as “not old and happy” (Hemingway). Unlike the other two main characters, he is not searching for the meaning of life. Life is good for him at the moment so, he cannot sympathize with the older men. Unlike the young waiter the older gentlemen are not as lucky. Hemingway demonstrates this in his short story.
The older waiter is much more understanding of the old man’s situation. He knows what it feels like to be lonely. He knows the desire to stay in the light that staves off the darkness, a darkness that brings thoughts of how lonely you really are. There is an emptiness in him can only be filled with the cleanliness and light of the café. He feels that this is the same for the old man.
In Ernest Hemingway’s short story “A Clean Well-Lighted Place,” The setting begins at a cafe well into the late hours of night. The perceived protagonist, in my opinion, is an older aged gentlemen waiter that works at the late night cafe whilst the antagonist is the younger gentleman waiter. During the introduction of this story, the younger waiter is serving a deaf elderly man scotch. Without a doubt, it's made obvious that the elderly gentlemen has spent countless nights within the four walls of the cafe. Furthermore, it’s evident that the younger waiter is less than fond of the elderly man. In one section of dialogue the younger waiter was speaking to the older waiter on the issue of the elderly man; "He'll stay all night,"..."I'm sleepy now. I never get into bed before three o'clock. He should have killed himself last week” (Hemingway). Clearly, this young man
The old waiter tells the young waiter that they are two different kinds of people, and goes into detail about how “this is a clean and pleasant café. It is well lighted. The light is very good and also, now, there are shadows of the leaves” (6). He claims he is reluctant to close the café because there might be someone who needs it. He knows that the café is someone’s
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.
Upon reading this internal monologue, one’s natural inclination may be to dismiss the older waiter, and perhaps by extension Hemingway, as merely depressed, or lonely, or haunted by some unspoken tragedy. However, such an interpretation of the above passage, and thus the story’s theme, would be an egregious oversimplification. Instead, it would be far more accurate to regard the older waiter’s worldview as something akin to existential nihilism, which is the belief that, essentially, life has no intrinsic meaning, that humanity’s very existence means nada. And as one comes to this realization, one truly grasps the theme of life’s meaninglessness that “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” exhibits.
At the beginning of the story, the two waiters talk about the deaf man attempting to kill himself again. When the older waiter asks why the old man tried to commit suicide, the young waiter says, “He was in despair.” Then, when the old waiter asks why was the old man was in despair, the young waiter assumes the old man had nothing to be despaired about, that “he has plenty of money.” The old man comes to the café and gets drunk on a regular basis. The old man liked going to the café because it was clean, well-lighted place to stay. It was a way to get away from his home and away from “the darkness.” The old waiter understood what the old man was going through, for he was going through the same issues. The old waiter tries to explain the issues the old man is going through to the young waiter, but the young waiter has no sympathy for him whatsoever. The young waiter had “everything” a young person could have. After the young man ran off the old man, he told the old waiter “there are bodegas open all night long.” The old waiter went on to explain to the young waiter that a bodega is not the same as a café, because the café is “clean and pleasant.” The two old men felt that life was meaningless and nothing. The old waiter connects with old man on that level. Not only does the old waiter feel that life is full of
In the story “A Clean, Well- Lighted Place” by Earnest Hemingway begins with the main character and his co-worker in a café. The two are analyzing, and discussing a deaf, drunk Oldman, who is their last customer of the day. As the deaf old man insists on having more whiskey, the main character informs the young waiter as to why and how the old man tried to commit suicide. They began to converse about the Oldman’s depressed life. The younger waiter is in a rush to go home to his wife, while the older waiter is patient and he stands up for the Oldman, being able to relate to him. Hemingway’s sentence structure and writing style represents the comparison and contrast between setting, people, and objects, along with emphasizing how it is to have and be nothing.
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
The younger waiter questions the older about how much money the old man has, showing his assessment of what matters in life. The young waiter also expresses his desire for the old man to leave, saying how
If the old man were to drink in that bar then the story’s mood could have been perceived in a different way.