Analysis: A Clean, Well-lighted Place by Ernest Hemingway

ANALYSIS: A CLEAN, WELL-LIGHTED PLACE

“A Clean, Well-lighted Place” by Ernest Hemingway revolves around the difference between a clean, bright cafe and a dark, not-so-clean, bar as a place for lonely men to spend the long, sleepless nights. Two waiters talk about the elderly deaf man who frequents the café regularly. The old man gets quietly drunk each night; just last week he attempted suicide but was rescued by his niece. Tonight he tries to pass the night in a clean, well-lighted place. The young waiter, impatient, to get home to his wife, does not comprehend the importance of this place to this old man's survival. The older waiter, who does understand, walks into the night himself, unable to find his own clean, well-lighted place in which to pass a lonely and sleepless night.

Though the story only has three main characters, their characteristics are helpful in building up the theme of the story. The first character mentioned is the elderly deaf man. Through most parts of the story, he is the main subject of discussion of two waiters in the café. It seems the man drinks at the café every night, alone, to pass the time in a clean, well-lighted environment. The second character is the young waiter. He seems to be impatient with the old man when he forced the old man to leave the café, hoping that he (young waiter) can return home to his wife by a decent hour. He does not understand the importance of the clean and well-lighted café to the old man. It is also noticeable that he does not favor old age and even described it as a “nasty thing”. The last main character is the old waiter who shares a similar plight with the old man. He believes that he must keep the café open in order to let others stay in the light, as he also wishes to remain in the light.

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Besides the characteristics of the different characters, Hemingway also used certain images and metaphors to highlight the theme of the story. The most obvious image used in the story is that of the contrast of light and dark. Hemingway used this to show the difference of the old man and the young people around him. The cafe is a "Clean, Well-Lighted Place". It is a refuge from the darkness of the night outside. Darkness is a symbol of fear and loneliness. The light symbolizes comfort and the company of others. However, it is mentioned that the old man sat in the shadow of the leaves of the tree made against the electric light. This may mean that even if he seeks refuge for his loneliness inside the lighted café, he is drawn to the shadows so that the darkness of his own age will not be so visible as it would be in the full force of the electric light. Unfortunately for the old man, this light is an artificial one, and its peace is both temporary and incomplete as shown when he was forced to leave the café, returning to the shadows of loneliness. Another image used in the story is the old man’s deafness. His deafness is a symbolism of his separation from the rest of the world. It is in the café that he feels less alienated from the rest of the world because of the peaceful and quiet atmosphere the café gives in contrast to the hustle and bustle of the streets during morning. Another tool used by Hemingway is the image of Nothing. The old man and the old waiter wanted to escape from this nothingness that they felt; which is an unending emptiness without comfort or companion of man or God. They wanted to escape from the dark truth, that life is without truth or meaning. That’s why they sought refuge in clean and well-lighted places to escape from the loneliness of their old age and to seek companion among people and meaning to their lives. The last image used is the irony of their desperate situation. Even if both the old men wanted to escape from the darkness and hopelessness they felt, they were constantly plagued by their insomnia. Even if the deaf man wanted to end his life, loneliness, darkness and segregation from the world, his suicide attempt was foiled by his niece.

The prevailing theme of the story is man’s search for light and refuge when life begins to lose meaning and purpose. This happens when man starts to live for nothing and must find something to distract himself from the horrible truth of his loneliness and hopelessness. In the story, the two old men chose the clear and well-lighted café as their escape. Though it was just an artificial light, it is the only way to step out of their darkness and find hope and companion in the well-lighted place. The old waiter’s description of Nothing showed that life begins to lose purpose and meaning when one loses his faith in God.

This story is definitely a realistic story for it reflects some of the people in our society today. Some people, mostly old ones, question their purpose in life at a certain point in their lives. They try to search for the meaning and importance of their lives but unfortunately come up with nothing. With this feeling of nothingness come the feeling of loneliness and hopelessness and their lack of faith in God. As I mentioned, this feeling of emptiness usually comes in old age because young people are in the prime of their lives and they don’t really deeply notice where their lives are headed as long as they’re having fun with their lives. It also shows how some people in our society ignore the older people and sometimes, even scorn or ridicule them. With the numerous problems in our society, it is enough for some people to lose their faith in God and eventually lose faith in themselves and their lives. Therefore, a lot of people in our society are separated through the loneliness and darkness of their lives.

A similar story to this is the story “Grief”. Grief is about a man named Iona who’s isolated from the people in the city. In the beginning of the story, the description given to him was that of a lifeless person. It is similar to the story “A Clean and Well-lighted Place” through its similar theme of alienation. In the story Grief, Iona is alienated from the people in the city because of his work. On the other hand, the old deaf man from the café was alienated from the people through his deafness. In the story Grief, Iona tries to “make contact” with the people by telling them of his son’s death, but the indifferent people simply ignored him. In Hemingway’s story, the old man tried to seek companion and purpose of his life inside the café, yet he was shunned by the young waiter.

This story is filled with images of despair. The contrasts between light and dark, youth and age are harsh and well defined. The reader leaves the story with a feeling that there is no escape from the doldrums of the winter years of life. It is a reminder to all of us that we mustn’t lose our faith in God because it is only through God that we may escape the feeling of nothingness and find the genuine clear and well-lighted place in our lives.