Comparison Of Empathy In A Clean, Well-Lighted Place And Cathedral

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

Known for his desolate and austere representations of blue-collar workers cornered in constant circumstances of isolation, Raymond Carver is one of the most prominent writers of American shorts stories in the late 20th Century. One of the most influential American short stories, “Cathedral”, hosts the complexity of human connection and emotions. The first-person story is told by an unnamed, working-class man detached from all emotional connections, including the one with his wife. Although, this stoic barrier is dissolved when the narrator makes his first deep connection with a blind man, Robert, when drawing a cathedral together. This crucial moment of emotional connection made by the standoffish narrator accurately depicts the theme of the story through the narrator’s rediscovery of the idea and sense of his human worth, inevitably redeeming himself by making his first compelling, sentimental connection.

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.

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,

Real life and literature go hand in hand, in that one inspires the other. The world we live in, the people in our lives, the lessons we learn, and the deep emotions we feel, whether we want to or not, are all embedded within great works of literature. It is through the lives of literary characters, that we connect to our own lives and the experiences we’ve had or yet to have. Authors are able to dive into human emotion in a way that we sometimes never see coming. This is true in the case of Raymond Carver’s short stories.

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.

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.

The short story “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver depicts the social isolation experienced by an unnamed male narrator caused by his lack of empathy and understanding. The narrator’s short sighted opinions concerning his wife, her friend Robert, and Robert’s late wife, Beulah are what give insight into his character and the attitudes he possesses. “Cathedral” is told through the narrator’s informal and limited first-person perspective to emphasize the emotional divide between himself and those around him, while also echoing the author’s minute personal connection to the narrator.

Although Hemingway and Carver are both important writers of the twentieth century, they have different outlooks on the value of faith and on human existence due to their distinct historical backgrounds (Pettinger; “Raymond Carver Biography”). Ernest Hemingway served as an ambulance driver in World War I and his military experience unfortunately deteriorated his mental health and resulted in depression and paranoia (Pettinger). His struggle with depression transcends in the fatalistic view of the old waiter, the main character of his short story “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place.” On the other hand, even though Carver had to deal with bankruptcies, a divorce, and alcoholism, “Cathedral” was published after this short-story author had settled down with his new wife and after he had quit drinking (“Raymond Carver Biography”). While Hemingway makes use of a narrative shift into the old waiter’s head to identify the nothingness of life, Carver uses the epiphany of his protagonist and a foil character to convey the message that people’s lives will become better if they take a leap of faith.

The repetition of "the old man sitting in the shadow” (Hemingway 175), implies that the old man was empty and feels separated from the rest of everything that’s around him. The same thing applies for the old mans deafness. He isn’t just deaf but isolated from the rest of his surroundings. These images imply the intensity of darkness. The older waiter is suffering true depression.

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.

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

      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

After the younger waiter goes home he carries on the conversation by himself. He explains that music isn’t good that a bar isn’t good that a person of dignity would not be in places such as those. A clean well-lighted café was different for him. A bar or a nightclub, where music is played, is for people who want the night who want to stay out and be in none respectful places. The older waiter tells the younger waiter “’ I am of those who like to stay late at the café with all those who don’t want to go to bed. With all those who need a light for the night’”(Hemingway 150). People like the older waiter and the old deaf man not only want to be out at night but they need to bee out at night because they don’t like the light or the day and the café provides a clean and respectful place for them to be. The older waiter says, “‘ each night I am reluctant to close because there might be some one who needs the café’”(Hemingway 150). The setting also becomes a safe but artificial place for people like the waiter and the old deaf man to be.

This story was written by Hemingway in 1933. It details an evening's interaction between two waiters, and their differing perspectives of life. Hemingway uses an old man as a patron to demonstrate the waiter's philosophies. Hemingway is also visible in the story as the old man, someone who society says should be content, but has a significant empty feeling inside. What follows is a line-by-line analysis, putting emphasis on the philosophies of the waiters.