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

Sadness, frustration, or discontent, however it’s put, there is an obvious difference with the characters in, “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” by Ernest Hemingway, and their ideas of mortality and old age. The short story shows the concept of “nothingness,” displayed through a very depressing view on life. This suggesting that all people, even those who are happy and content, will eventually end up lonely, drunk, or unhappy. By allowing a reader to view this from three diverse perspectives, Hemingway is able to render how someone’s attitude of their own life can go from one extreme to another. Allowing suicide as a final option to surface for some.

Value, morals, and religion are all ideas people rely on. However, according to Ernest Hemingway in his short story “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place”, these things do not hold any true value. They are merely concepts in a world full of nothingness. Instead of simply writing this idea directly in the story, Hemingway creates a situation where all ages of one man are at the cafe of nothingness. The use of this interaction conveys the meaning of life through the differing perspectives of a man growing up and learning. Hemingway uses the third person perspective on a man’s journey through life to showcase the message that nothing in the world has meaning, and once one accepts this, they can truly live.

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

Ernest Hemingway's short story, "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place," first published in 1933, is written in his characteristic terse style. It is the story of two waiters having a conversation in a café, just before closing up and going home for the night. They cannot leave because they still have a customer. One is anxious to get home to his wife, while the other sympathizes with the old man sitting at the table. Without realizing it, they are discussing the meaning of life.

This way, the author is able to give just the right amount of detail to the reader, but not too much. He does not spend time describing little details and leaves more of the imagining to the reader. Hemingway not only uses this stylistic approach to let the reader envision what they want, but to also demonstrate the simplicity that life can bring. Santiago, the “Old Man,” was an old fisherman who lived a simplistic life. He taught the young boy to fish, he had simple morals that he stuck to, and he loved to fish. Hemingway was a young novelist who lived a life of adventure and his public image influenced generations upon generations. He used the novel to convince the reader that there is a great deal to life - adventure is waiting to be sought out, there are people who are waiting to be met, and there is life waiting to be lived. Santiago is old and wise and had learned the value of life. Such knowledge he wanted to share to the reader, “He no longer dreamed of storms, nor of women , nor of great occurrences, nor of great fish, nor fights, nor contests of strength, nor of his wife. He only dreamed of places now and of the lions on the beach. They played like young cats in the dusk and he loved them as he loved the boy” (Hemingway 25). Hemingway’s goal was to demonstrate how much a person can receive from so little. He valued everything life had to offer, as did his character, Santiago. The

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.

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.

Ernest Hemingway has this uncanny, yet, clear and distinctive writing style, that has made him a successful author and a means of many criticisms. One critic in particular, David M. Wyatt, says that Hemingway has a way of making the beginning of his stories “raise the very specter of the end against which they are so concerned to defend.” (Wyatt). In his two short stories, “Hills Like White Elephants” and “A Clean-Well Lighted Place, Hemingway draws out this uncanny effect in anticipating the sense of an ending. He paints this very minimalistic style, “only centering on surface elements without giving explicit content of the underlying themes”(Wyatt) he creates. He wants readers to depict what’s below the surface, letting the crux emit through.

Ernest Hemingway is a well known author of many short stories. He was born in Oak Park, Illinois. He was starting to be known as a good author when he first published his firsts stories. Hemingway even earned a Nobel Prize in Literature. Eventually, he committed suicide by shooting himself. His writing remains well-known. One story he wrote was called “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place.” Hemingway wrote this story about an old man who stays late at a cafe where two waiters were working at. The old man would even stay late when no one else was in the cafe. The waiters, especially the younger one, were becoming impatient with the old man. The older waiter did not seem to mind much. As the story goes on, Hemingway gives the reader a good contrast between the waiters. There is also a sense of depression or abandonment in the story. This story can be seen as a reflection of the impact of age because of the contrast between the waiters, the loneliness of the old man, and the emphasis of the use of “nada.”

Elderly people may be thought of as content, rich, or happy to see such a long life. This is true in some instances, but money does not bring happiness to one’s life. The joy of family friends and love is what brings true smiles to someone’s face. In “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” by Ernest Hemingway the older gentleman is depressed about life and likes to drink his sorrows away, although he is wealthy it does not make him happy. Throughout this story the narrator depicts characterization the most in many instances, through the older man and the waiters. By the man’s actions, and also the younger waiters choice of words. The theme is evident that if you are rich you will not always be happy with life, looking past the wealth it is the small things in life everyone may take for granted.

In "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place," Ernest Hemingway uses light and dark imagery along with a young vs. old motif to demonstrate that life has no meaning. The story is about a deaf old man who sits in a cafe every night and gets drunk and the waiters that must serve him. One waiter is young and arrogant while the other is a little older and is more humble and understanding of others. Throughout the story the waiters converse back and forth about what should be done about this drunk old man as it gets later and later in the night. The cafe is used as a place for those seeking quiet and the light instead of the loud dark bars.

The boy wishes the other boy was with them because he thinks the boy must be alone and he just wants to help the boy not feel alone.

When first reading Ernest Hemmingway’s “A Clean Well-Lighted Place” it seems to be nothing more than a simple short story. But when looking deeper into the narrative one realizes how meaningful and insightful this story truly is. It brings the readers to understand the dark reality of life and different views between young and old. Hemingway sets an atmosphere of despair and loneliness throughout the entire dialogue and monologue within. The story is an interaction between two waiters, one old one young, within a café in Madrid, Spain. The two waiters argue about an old regular of the café, who comes alone and drinks until closing time. Throughout the story, the two men reflect on the nature of happiness and the inevitability of death. The story exhibits how age has an immense effect on the way we observe life. In Hemmingway’s “A Clean Well-Lighted Place” the age difference between these two colleagues brings a difference in personality, values, and solidarity.