Ernest Hemingway’s “A Clean, Well – Lighted Place”

In “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place”, Hemingway uses themes of depression and life as nothingness by using symbols, and imagery. Two waiters in a Spanish café are waiting late one night for their last customer to leave. As they wait, they talk about the old, deaf man sitting at the bar. It is revealed that he has recently attempted suicide. The younger waiter in the café is very agitated and wants the old man to go home. He says, “I wish the suicide attempt had been successful. The younger waiter says that he has a wife waiting for him at home, and is very unsympathetic. The older waiter sympathizes and tells the young waiter that the old man had once had a wife as well. The old man eventually leaves when the young waiter denied him any further drinks. The old man explains that drinking in the café is completely different than drinking at home. He describes the old man as, “One of those who like to stay late at the café… with all those who do not want to go to bed. With all those who need a light for the night.” He is reluctant to close because there could be a lot of people that may need the café. The older waiter points out that the bright atmosphere of the café is different than that of a pub. After the younger waiter leaves, the older one asks himself why he needs a clean, well-lighted place. The answer is that he needs a contrast of order because of “a nothing that

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

Moreover, Ernest Hemingway suggests to not judge others and view the unenlightened with pity. The older waiter best portrays this with his interactions with the younger waiter. They are discussing the difference between young and old and the differences between them. The old waiter can relate more to the deaf man and says, “You do not understand. 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.” He understands the appeal of the cafe compared to the other places opened that late. He chooses to not judge the younger one for his ignorance, but instead feels sorry for him. Furthermore, the young waiter shows his unenlightenment when he talks about the old, deaf man. He is rambling on about how he has a life, where as, the old man’s is over and does not matter

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,

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

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.

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.

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

In this story yet again a old man is alone; this time at a cafe where two servers are left to attend to their last customer. One server, an older man and the other a young man filled with self-proclaimed confidence. Throughout the story, the reader again discovers a lonely and dark backstory for the lone man. The man is said to have attempted suicide by trying hanging himself with a rope. When one server asks why the older one replys “he was in despair” and it was over “nothing”. As the story continues the two servers begin to distinguish themselves through their personalities. The young one: irritable and entitled. Stating an hour for him is far more important than an hour to the old man. (168) While the other is shown to be compassionate and understanding, defending the against the the young servers onslaught saying “This old man is clean. He drinks without spilling. Even now, drunk. Look at him,” (Kennedy Gioia Hemingway 169) to which the aggravated server replies with “I don’t want to look at him. I wish he would go home.” At this point the young server refuses to serve the old man and sends him on his way home where he walked away “unsteadily but with dignity”. The tone of the story then changes from the two servers combatting, to the older server being left with his thoughts and acceptance. The older server tells the younger one that he has “youth and confidence” and that that is “everything.” (Kennedy Gioia Hemingway 169) As their conversation ends the older server again relates to the lone gentleman saying he is also one “who need a light at night”; with that the two close up the shop as the older server explores his brain by himself showcasing Hemingway’s thoughts of depression as he walks to the

Hemingway’s use of vivid style, such as juxtaposing shifts and explanatory dialogue, help reveal how people may be going through hard times ,but they deserve somewhere they do not have to think about those problems. Throughout “A Clean, well-lighted place,” shifts are used to illustrate how the characters feel and think of each other. One shift occurs when the story goes from seeing how the younger waiter feels about the old man “You should have killed yourself last week” to when the older waiter understands and relates to the old man “A clean, well-lighted place was a very different thing…. After all, he said to himself, it’s probably only insomnia” (Hemingway 9). The older waiter's feelings prove how he also goes to the cafe to escape his

The short story, “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” by Ernest Hemingway, begins with an older deaf man that is a regular at this café. He comes in a lot and sits in the corner of the café, to keep to himself. The waiters’ start to talk about the man, due to him trying to commit suicide. They cannot comprehend why he would do such a thing, since he has money, so he shouldn’t have anything to worry about. Following the waiters’ talking about him, it was starting to get late and they were going to close the café shortly. The waiter that was serving him was annoyed that he had been there so late in the evening and intoxicated. He wanted the older man to leave, so he could go home at a decent hour. The second waiter wanted the older man to be left alone,

The older waiter sees it much different. He has been around and understands that all the old man wants is a clean well-lighted place to drink his brandy. He knows the difference between and nice café and some old bodega. This reminds me of how separated older

For the older waitor and the old man, the cafe is their escape from nothingness. The cafe is vibrant and clean, which has order and clarity. Darkness and chaos are associated with nothingness. The cafe represents the polar opposite of darkness so it serves as a refuge for those who are trying to escape emptiness and despair, namely the old man and the older waiter. The older waiter contrasts the cafe with bars saying that bars are noisy, dark and "unpolished" (143). He complains that he can't sit at a bar or even "stand before a bar with dignity" (144). The noisy unclean bars do not extinguish the despair like the cafe does. Hemingway also incorporates a recurring motif of lonliness throughout the story. The old man is deaf, and his wife has died. He is visibly lonely and frequents the cafe to escape or to temporarily forget his lonliness. The older waiter never actually admits that he is lonely, but he is very similar to the old man in that he likes to sit in cafes late at night (143-44). Both characters find solace in sitting in the cafes because it provides an escaape for them. They are able to sit in a peaceful setting which for them is better than being alone. The older waiter tells the younger one that the cafe provides for "all those [people] that need a light for the night" (144). The older waiter realizes that the cafe gives purpose to the old man and even to himself. The cafe allows them to momentraily forget about their

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.

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.