Earnest Hemingway
In "A Clean Well-Lighted Place", Earnest Hemingway focuses on the pain of old age suffered by a man that we meet in a cafe late one night. Through the use of dialogue, Hemingway creates three characters that symbolize the stages of life: birth, living, and death. Additionally, the tone of the story is created in three ways. First, he contrasts light and dark to show the difference between the difference between this man and the young people around him. Secondly, he uses the old man's deafness as an image of his separation from the rest of the world. Lastly, Hemingway uses the image of "nada" or nothing. Hemingway's tone and choice of language leaves the reader feeling that they too cannot escape from the doldrums of the "dead" years of their own life. Through the language of dialogue, three characters emerge creating a symbolic illustration of the progression of life. The young waiter states, " I have confidence, I am all confidence"(258). He displays his eagerness to conquer the world. When we are young, we live for today, for ourselves, without regard for what the future may hold. Tomorrow is a dream; tomorrow is something left to the old. However, in all his confidence he lacks patience and understanding, which can
When hope has waned, despair overwhelms and we see the transition from the living to the time of dying. The old man has journeyed through all the progressions of life. The old man's death wish is further played out through the metaphor of insomnia, an ailment that he apparently shares with the older waiter. "You have youth confidence and a job" the older waiter replies (258). The older waiter symbolizes the "living" stage of life. He is filled with despair, but not yet completely devoid of hope. He is uncertain of what the rest of his life may bring, but a modicum of hope still exists. The old waiter has the omniscient view of the three progressions of life. He has lived beyond his "birth" stage, is teetering in the "living" stage, and through the unfolding life of the old man, is painfully aware of the future. Is it fear of growing old, the loneliness, or despair, which delivers the old waiter into his dark, unclean world of nothing? His mockery of the "Our Father" is the cumulative answer to the question. He has lost his own meaning of life. only come with the experience of life. Because of this lack of experience, he is not capable of compassion for the old man Lastly, Hemingway uses the image of "Nothing." The old waiter, who sometimes acts as the voice of the old man's soul, states, "It was all nothing and a man was nothing, too... Some lived in it and never felt it but he knew it was nada y pues nada y pues nada"(258). The nothing is a relentless monotony, unbroken
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1013
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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