A Clean Well Lighted Place By Ernest Hemingway

Mike Marino
4/17/2013
Gail Watson
Rough Draft

Ernst Hemmingway

Ernest Hemingway was an American Author who’s tone and style captivated the world, and drew plenty of attention to him. His short stories “The End of Something” and “A Clean, Well Lighted Place” struck the eyes of numerous critics. These critics analyze his writing tone and style to effectively critique his work. Looking at “The End of Something” and “A Clean, Well Lighted Place” a reader can see the correlation between the critic’s comments, and Hemingway’s writing. Hemingway has a technique in which he opens some stories with a description of the scenery and geography of the story. In the beginning of “The End of Something, Hemingway gives his readers a description
Like the town and mill of Horton’s Bay, their love has faded, at least in Nick’s eyes. He then proceeds to break up with her, ending their summer romance. Godfrey wrote, “Before we learn that Nick and Marjorie’s relationship is ending, we are given a dismal picture of the gradual dismantling of the lumber mill…(Godfrey 3). This pre described downfall of the mill is then easily linked to the emotions of Hemingway’s characters giving the story some intensity. As stated by Godfrey, “The setting not only serves as a dramatic backdrop for the love conflicts between Nick and Marjorie, but also in its dismantled, ruined state—parallels the human drama itself”(Godfrey 3). The mill was a center piece for the town and once the industry died, the town could not survive. Godfrey then states, “The same is true for Nick and Marjorie: Our sense is that some “center” that held them together has dwindled and then died.” Although we are never told as readers what the “center” was, we know it had to be important to Nick, if he was to base their breakup off that
Godfrey stated, “Hemingway’s geographies do more for his narratives than simply elevate or give depth to the stories; these landscapes are also invested with both aesthetic and cultural meaning (Godfrey 2). In Hemingway’s “The Green Hills of Africa,” Hemingway goes into a deep description while fishing on the Gulf Stream. He states, “…This Gulf Stream you are living with, knowing, learning about, loving, has moved, as it moves, since before man…that stream will flow, as it has flowed, after the Indians, after the Spaniards…and all of the systems of governments, the richness, the poverty…are all gone.” What he did was “interweave geography with cycles of both human and natural change” (Godfrey 2). In “The End of Something” Hemingway used this style with his choice of the setting. He chose a place, Horton’s Bay, which has changed, is changing, and will continue to change naturally. It also changes because of human contact and current world cultures. Logging obviously has become less of a business especially for this town thus causing the landscape to fall apart and have a deserted feeling to it. In “The End of Something” as explained, Hemingway took it a step further linking the changes land has gone through to the characters