A Clean, Well-Lighted Place
http://www.mrbauld.com/hemclean.html
Having read many of Ernest Hemingway's short stories over the past week and a half, I have become quite intrigued by his life, stories, style of writing, and the analyses that accompany his 'iceberg-style writing'. I decided to read and discuss another one of his short stories titled "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place", which I have linked for those interested in reading, above.
To sum it up, this story is about a deaf, old man who spends his night drinking alone into the late hours of the night. Two waiters, one young and one old, discuss his attempted suicide, taking guesses about what made him do it, and what happened after. The young waiter is anxious to get home to his bed and his wife while the older one wants to let the old man be, and sees himself in the old man admitting that, he too, will one day want a clean, well-lit place to drink alone.
When speculating why the old man attempted suicide, the older waiter asks why he attempted it. The younger one says he was "in despair" about "nothing" because "he has plenty of money." This exemplifies the naivety and youth of the young waiter; thinking that money is the only source of despair. Clearly, the young waiter lacks the life experience required to understand the sort of life the old man might have lived thus far. Young people typically think of themselves as invincible, and often, have not yet been exposed to many of the hardships and trials in life. I know this is certainly true for myself. I certainly see the world through rose-colored glasses! Call me optimistic, naïve, or just young, I like to point out the good in all people, to see the silver lining in all situations, and to ignore the looming hand of death, and violence, and fear, and loneliness that can engulf your psyche, if you let it.
The brief discussion of the girl and the soldier just further juxtaposes the young from the old. "The street light shone on the brass number on [the soldier's] collar", while the "old man sat in the shadow of the leaves of the tree". Why is it that Hemingway had the young couple walking in light and the old man in the dark? I believe this is simply illustrating the hopefulness of the young and the gloominess of the old. An interesting, and saddening, description. This description also draws back to the "well-lit" setting of the bar. The older waiter argues with the younger waiter; "You do not understand. This is a clean and pleasant café. It is well lighted. The light is very good and also, now, there are shadows of the leaves." The entirety of the story is focused on this concept of light; light representing youth, and the shadows sheltering the old. The old are able to come to a bar such as this, well-lit and clean, because perhaps it brings them back to their youth, but also, allows them to hide in their shadow and go unnoticed. Perhaps the light allows the old to reflect on the days they once stood in the light, growing pensive about their youth.
Is the man really deaf? I, personally, do not think so. It seems to me that the old man simply has nothing left to say. The better years of his life have been lived and he might feel as if, even if he spoke, his life and demeanor differ so greatly from those he speaks to. Perhaps he feels too useless or depressed to acknowledge others, especially others as disrespectful and naïve as the young waiter.
I find Hemingway's short stories to be fascinating. They are so short and sweet, but contain so much depth and uncertainty. It is interesting and challenging to analyze the deeper, underlying meaning of these stories (which contain a majority of simple dialogue),and creates good discussion. Based on what I have read and heard of Hemingway's life and personality, it seems that this story is a good reflection of Hemingway's views on the young and the old. Hemingway wrote this story when he was 28 years old, yet he writes as if he sides with the views of the old. Hemingway has a dark, curious demeanor and, to me, I see a lot of Hemingway's internal thoughts and feelings revealed in this short story.
In 10th grade I had to read the novel The Sun Also Rises and I didn't really like it, so when Hemingway was assigned for this class, I was initially a little bit skeptical. After reading some of his short stories, though, I realized I liked his style of writing much more than I did previously. His short stories are so simple on the surface, but the themes are much deeper and darker than one might expect. As a result, I agree that they are very interesting to look at and analyze. In this one, like in others, it is mostly dialogue, which leaves readers to figure out what exactly is going on the scene. I appreciate that not everything is plainly stated. Personally, it makes me think harder about the text. I really enjoyed reading this analysis. Nice post!
ReplyDeleteI hadn't been exposed to much Hemingway before this class, except for a brief time in my AP Lit class in high school. We read "Hills Like White Elephants" and I remember thinking it was really neat that so much could be communicated through so little. It makes every sentence, word, and punctuation seem more important, because it had to of been specifically chosen for a reason. In fact, I'm sure that Thoreau would have loved Hemingway's style of writing because he was definitely deliberate in his choices! Since reading the selection of Hemingway stories for this class, I've been even more intrigued by his writing, and the way that his personality and ideals are reflected. Hemingway seems to have a very romanic mind set in the sense that all his emotions and values are at extremes. I can somewhat identify with his way of looking at the world because I have always tended to be a little critical of the world, and analyze the people and events around me to look for deeper meaning and motives, but I differ in that I still like to look for the best in the things around me. I've found that if you focus on the bad, it's very easy to become overwhelmed by your own inability to change it all, which is maybe part of what drove Hemingway to depression later in his life. But I still enjoy reading his short stories, because I think they are an interesting lens to look at the world through. I hope I get to explore more of the Hemingway canon in a class in the future!
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