The Symbolism of “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place”
The café is the place to be the older waiter believes is a place in which he needs to get away from the darkness and go to the light, in which the story revolves around. The darkness is a main symbol for the melancholy of emptiness and the light is the way to escape that. “I am one of those who stay late at the café… With all those who need a light for the night.’” (Paragraph 70). In the short story, “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place”, Ernest Hemmingway shows that there is nothing more to the world progressing through symbolism throughout the story creating a unifying theme of darkness and light. The story of “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” bases on a conversation of the two waiters of the café watching a drunk, old man who they pity. As the two waiters watch the old man, the narrator says, “A girl and a soldier went by on the street.” (Paragraph 10). The street lights shined on the couple as the old man sat in the shadows. “The street light shone on the brass number on
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The old man tried to kill himself before his niece found him hanging himself, which symbolizes how he is depressed. The younger waiter keeps mocking the old man about it, insulting him by saying, “’You should have killed yourself last week!’” (Paragraph 19) because he is deaf, in which his deafness represents his and the older waiter’s isolation from the world from the world. Because he cannot hear what the younger waiter is saying, the old man just replies, “’A little more’” (Paragraph 19). Another essential symbol relating to the old man that Hemmingway had made was how the old man was under the shadow of the leaves. The narrator says, “…the old man sat in the shadow of the leaves of the tree that moved slightly in the wind.” The shadow of the leaves is the darkness he is in right outside of the café, isolating
There is an apparent unity seen between the old man and the older waiter. Opposite from the young waiter, the older waiter and old man seem devastatingly lonely and worn out by life. While the young waiter is rude and insistently talks down to the old man, the older waiter defends him. He too understands and appreciates a clean, well-lighted café opposed to a bar or bodega. The older men understand each other without there being any communication between them. In the final line the reader is able to truly understand the older waiters view of his own morality, “He disliked bars and bodegas. A clean, well-lighted café was a very different thing. Now, without thinking further, he went home to his room. He would lie in the bed and finally,
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.
It is hopeful aspects of life. It symbolizes that living in bright light is to live a decent and suitable life. The bright light symbolized positive parts of life while the darkness symbolized the opposite. When the author discusses Sonny in prison it is surrounded by darkness, the drug addiction is surrounded by darkness and the life style of the run down Harlem is seen in complete darkness. Darkness and light balance each other.
On stressful evenings people often find themselves walking in circles hunting for an escape; as seen in Ernest Hemingway’s, “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place”, which exemplifies the life of an old man and two waiters. The old man is doing exactly what most people do when they have reached rock bottom. He is hunting for peace in his life and has decided to find such solace drinking in a local café. The little café in the short story symbolizes a safe zone for people who feel unwanted, alone, and in despair. Hemingway uses the younger waiter as a foil for the older waiter to emphasize the opposing personalities and beliefs of the waiters. The ambiguity in the dialog between the two waiters evolved into a scandal relating to reproductions of the short story.
While Hemingway's short story "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place" is usually interpreted as an intensely poetic description of despair, it can with equal validity be seen instead as mankind's never ending yearning to find spiritual peace. Hemingway's short story displayed this emotional journey in many different ways. First, the title itself is a symbol for man's desire to find a state of tranquillity, safety, and comfort. Hemingway also showed this in the story's setting, which was used as a symbol for a sense of order, for it was late, the cafe was empty, and the men there were at ease. Finally, Hemingway showed this desire in the contrasting actions between the
He thinks that religion does not help feeling depressed or lonely and both of these things you must face alone. All he needs is the café and to be able to provide this safe haven for other people who feel like him. When he is finished closing up the café, he returns home and thinks about how he doesn’t like bars and bodegas and prefers the “clean well-lighted” café because it “was a very different thing” (7). He knows he will go into his room and be up all night thinking until the sun would come up. Then, he would sleep. Hemingway writes, “After all, he said to himself, it’s probably only insomnia. Many must have it” (7). The ending of this story shows that the old waiter is in fact full of despair and loneliness. He tries to convince himself that it’s only insomnia and tries to feel less alone by saying that “many must have it.” Even though he acknowledges that he and the old man are extremely similar, it appears that the old waiter is not yet ready to admit that at the end of his life, he is feeling horrible and he does not know how to bring himself out of it. All he knows is the café since that’s where he seems
For the older waiter in “A Clean Well-Lighted Place”, the cafe symbolizes home because he feels that is all the he has. He says that he lacks confidence but he does have a job. He doesn't want to leave the cafe and he feels that others can benefit from such a place as having somewhere to go. The narrator in “The House on Mango Street” realizes that she does not feel she has a place called home. The story symbolizes for her a place of wanting better for herself. She has always known promises, but she has never seen them and she vows to herself to have that one day.
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 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.
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
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.
The old man, according to the two waiters, had a wife and a family. All the old man has now is his niece, who saved him from a suicide attempt. The old man loves to sit in the café, while drinking brandy. For example, “The old man sat in the shadow of the leaves of the tree that moved slightly in the wind”. The old man also enjoys staying at the café late at night because he has nothing better to do. Even though the old man is alive and well, he feels lonely because the love of his life is gone. He has no one to go home to, so he sits in the café, looking at the lives of other people. For instance, the old man saw a girl and a soldier go by in the street. The street light shone on the brass number on his collar. The girl wore no head covering and hurried beside him. Although the old man tried to hang himself and seems lonesome, he managed to survive and keep on living life to the
As the older waiter takes his seat at the table with the younger waiter, the younger waiter comments about the old man's drunkenness every night. The old man asks the younger why the old man would want to kill himself. The younger waiter replies that he doesn't know why. They discuss the incident, and the younger waiter asks who cut the rope that the man was hanging from. The older replies that it was his niece, and explains that she probably did it our of fear for his soul.
In doing so he provokes the reader to think more in-depth to find out the true meaning. As previously stated, Hemingway has a connection to the use of light and darkness. For instance, in his short stories, including “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place,” he uses light and darkness in various ways. Near the short story’s conclusion, Hemingway connects the older waiter to a problem in his own life. Once the older waiter finishes his drink and leaves the bar,
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.