A Clean Well-Lighted Place By Ernest Hemingway
Nick Pattelli
Mrs. Bynarowicz
AP Literature and Composition
3 October 2016
Life is Meaningless
Life is meaningless. In a sea full of people, we are just a speck. A small, insignificant part of a larger heterogeneous group in which our life has no value. Using his short story “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” as the means with the literary elements of characterization and light and dark imagery, Hemingway proposes the aforementioned concepts and advances the notion that a single person's life has no value and is meaningless.
In the short story, characterization through the words of the older waiter is utilized to reveal traits of the old man and subsequently support Hemingway’s stance on the value of life. Taking place in a café late at night, an old man drinks to be drunk. He’s a regular customer of the establishment, and the two waiters, one old and one young, reflecting on the old man, his actions, and his life. They explain that he tried to commit suicide last week because “he was in despair” about “nothing” (page 1). This introduces the reader to Hemingway's oft-utilized concept of nada, or nothingness. It’s evident that the man is lonely and …show more content…
This is revealed through light and dark imagery. Outside of the safe haven that is the café, there is nothing but darkness, “shadows” and “empty tables” (page 1). Inside the café, however, things are different. It is described in the title as “clean” and “well-[lit].” The man survived his suicide attempt and stays in the café to stave off his eventual return to nada, or nothingness. He realizes the futility of life and the world itself. This striking juxtaposition make it clear that it’s only the light of the café that keeps the man from thinking about the nothingness of the world and only the light of the café that stops him from trying to commit
Mrs. Bynarowicz
AP Literature and Composition
3 October 2016
Life is Meaningless
Life is meaningless. In a sea full of people, we are just a speck. A small, insignificant part of a larger heterogeneous group in which our life has no value. Using his short story “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” as the means with the literary elements of characterization and light and dark imagery, Hemingway proposes the aforementioned concepts and advances the notion that a single person's life has no value and is meaningless.
In the short story, characterization through the words of the older waiter is utilized to reveal traits of the old man and subsequently support Hemingway’s stance on the value of life. Taking place in a café late at night, an old man drinks to be drunk. He’s a regular customer of the establishment, and the two waiters, one old and one young, reflecting on the old man, his actions, and his life. They explain that he tried to commit suicide last week because “he was in despair” about “nothing” (page 1). This introduces the reader to Hemingway's oft-utilized concept of nada, or nothingness. It’s evident that the man is lonely and …show more content…
This is revealed through light and dark imagery. Outside of the safe haven that is the café, there is nothing but darkness, “shadows” and “empty tables” (page 1). Inside the café, however, things are different. It is described in the title as “clean” and “well-[lit].” The man survived his suicide attempt and stays in the café to stave off his eventual return to nada, or nothingness. He realizes the futility of life and the world itself. This striking juxtaposition make it clear that it’s only the light of the café that keeps the man from thinking about the nothingness of the world and only the light of the café that stops him from trying to commit