Existentialism In Ernest Hemingway's A Clean Well-Lighted Place

From Hemingway’s outlandish family, to his principal influencers, it is understood that these are the key inspirations for his triumph in the writing realm. People either adored Hemingway or had a strong hatred for him. Hemingway connects to his writing in a way that no other author of his time period could, which is shown throughout his writing. A substantial part of Hemingway’s life was in the war, whether that was fighting or just helping out around the trenches. He did all of these things and still had a longing to travel the world. Ernest Hemingway was an excessively influential author to the overall modernism literary movement. He had a unique childhood and an extraordinary overall life. He took much pride in the quality of his

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.

Killinger does however acknowledge the elements of existentialism that are very present in Hemingway’s writing. “Hemingway again like the existentialists has always exalted the lone man. No writer’s protagonists are more consistently referred to as heroes.” (Killinger, 1960).

He uses symbols effectively, which helps him to explore the theme of disillusionment and death. Death in his stories has many names; for example 'nada' or 'nothingness' – it may be assumed that it is always present. “Hemingway and the Lost Generation thereby explored more than just death, but the possibility of escape from the corruption of the old dreams – of being able to “resume again unknowing” – without returning to the past” (Currell 2009: 39). His short stories contains an excellent portraiture of society struggling with their personal waste lands. Even though they are not literally about the Great War, they display the inner significance of the Roaring Twenties; they show society's mentality and confusion. “Themes of Hemingway’s works have their roots in journalism and in topic or events that he believed were representative of the post-war world his grown-up characters and his readers alike had to confront” (Stewart 2001: 31). Further-more, in Hemingway’s fiction all the values seem to be no longer valid; a reader encounters disappearance of religion, which failed to provide emotional support for traumatised socie-ty. It also does not present valid answers. Finally, in Hemingway’s short stories appears a very important theme of anomie – the state where there are no law or norms. It can be also defined as an individual’s alienation (Idema 1990:

In a “Clean, Well-lighted Place,” author Ernest Hemingway uses his direct, unadorned, detail oriented imagery and a minimalist style of writing to convey the philosophical idea of existentialism. Existentialism is a way of life that means one must create their own essence but, they have no predetermined purpose (Meyers 558). This notion of existentialism was very important during Hemingway 's time period. The war was shaping and shaking people 's belief of God, happiness and love (Meyers 558). This created the pathway to existentialism. In fact, in his short story readers are given an insight into the search for the meaning of life. Hemingway uses two of his main characters too show a current life of un-fulfillment, loneliness, despair and depression. However, both of these characters are on the search for the meaning of life.

Ernest Hemingway started his career as a writer in a newspaper office in Kansas City at the age of seventeen. Here he learned to get to the heart of a story with direct, simple sentences. After the United States entered the First World War, he joined a volunteer ambulance unit in the Italian army. Here he was wounded near the Italian/Austrian front. Hospitalized, he fell in love with his nurse, who later called off their relationship. After his return to the United States, he became a reporter for Canadian and American newspapers and was soon sent back to Europe to cover such events as the Greek Revolution. During the twenties, Hemingway became a member of the group of expatriate Americans in Paris, which he described in his first important work ‘The Sun Also Rises’ (1926).

In Hemingway’s writing, he is always searching for truth, although, he often looks at the world in a nihilistic way. When reading through the authors’ short-stories or novels, he often refers to nothingness and the meaninglessness of existence. However, he also uses a practical application to repair his existential nihilistic viewpoints. Hemingway’s work is often seen as a representation of himself, and I believe that he used pragmatism as a distraction from the meaninglessness of the world. With suicide being prevalent in his family, I firmly believe that Hemingway himself strived for meaning in life, but eventually opted out because life is chaotic and there are too many unknown answers in the world. Hemingway tried to establish values and morals through pragmatism, but in reality, values are constantly changing and everything is temporary. By looking through a philosophical lens, I will demonstrate how Hemingway uses absurdism, nihilism, and pragmatism as a way to understand and interpret the world. In order to do so, I will look through Hemingway’s short-stories and novels and analyze passages critically to showcase the theories that are present in his work. In order to undertake this grand idea, I will also incorporate biographical elements to display Hemingway’s family history of suicide and to showcase his personal struggle to find meaning in the world.

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.

Hemingway’s “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place,” like all of his other stories, is based around a famous code of behavior. The philosophical premises that are demonstrated in Hemingway’s code of behavior tell people to accept that there are no guidelines or rules in life, face reality and see things exactly as they are, no matter how difficult, contain their despair and self-pity by sheer willpower, don’t make trouble for others, and instead of judging others, people should view the unenlightened with irony and pity. By analyzing “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place,” the reader can find different examples of this code of behavior within Hemingway’s writing.

  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

The period between World War I and World War II was a very turbulent time in America. Ernest Hemingway most represented this period with his unrestrained lifestyle. This lifestyle brought him many successes, but it eventually destroyed him in the end. His stories are read in classrooms across America, but his semi-autobiographical writings are horrible role models for the students who read them. Hemingway’s lifestyle greatly influenced his writings in many ways.

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.

Ernest Hemingway is regarded as one of the most influential writers during the twentieth century. Born and raised in Oak Park, Illinois, Hemingway started his literary career writing newspapers in a local newspaper office. During World War One, he joined a unit in the Italian army, volunteering in an ambulance. While on the front, Hemingway was wounded and spent a considerable amount of time in the hospital. Later, he was presented with a medal for bringing back a wounded Italian soldier in spite of being wounded. Despite this setback, he returned back to the United States and became a reporter for American and Canadian newspaper. Shortly after, Hemingway was sent back to Europe to report events from the Greek Revolution.

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.