The Path to Existentialism
Existentialists believe that many things exist, but are pointless until fully experienced or acted upon. They usually reject religion and forms of divinity and live their lives in solitude without any fear of consequence, so this allows them to have the freedom of choice. The story “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” by Ernest Hemingway is a work of existentialism because of the characters present in the story. Hemingway, through the characters of the old man, the young waiter, and the old waiter in the story, illustrates three positions on the path to existentialism. The old man represents the end of the path to existentialism in the story. He has already experienced the certain things in life that he wanted to experience, and he no longer finds it necessary to be among the living. Existentialists enjoy the freedom of choice and therefore the old man might have also wanted to choose the time and place of his death as death is one thing the existentialist cannot control unless acted upon. This feeling compels the old man to attempt suicide, but his attempt fails, and he has now returned to a life of solitude as existentialists are accustomed to. He obviously goes to this café to be alone in his solitariness and to keep others from com
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 940
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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