A Clean Well Lighted Place Comparison

Ernest Hemingway did not write a happy, inspiring story. His story “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” uses a famous code of behavior to dictate what his characters say and how they act. The story is depressing, dreary, and distressing but it gets the philosophical premises across. He demonstrates to not make trouble for other people, to contain one’s despair and self-pity by sheer will power, and to not judge others and view the unenlightened with pity.

The movie illustrates what I think are two major problematic personalities we will have to deal with in the development of AI. One illustrated by Nathan, the archetype of the power hungry egotistical developer. The other archetype illustrated by Caleb, the eager good intentioned, yet impulsive and uninitiated. The former providing the most obvious of dangerous personalities. Nathans consumption of god like feelings and sloppiness with control is clearly presented throughout the movie, thus leading to the deadly conclusion to Nathans story. Which is what I feel we see in history and countless stories throughout time in regards to glutinous, sloppy, power hungry leaders and

In the story “A Clean, Well- Lighted Place” by Earnest Hemingway begins with the main character and his co-worker in a café. The two are analyzing, and discussing a deaf, drunk Oldman, who is their last customer of the day. As the deaf old man insists on having more whiskey, the main character informs the young waiter as to why and how the old man tried to commit suicide. They began to converse about the Oldman’s depressed life. The younger waiter is in a rush to go home to his wife, while the older waiter is patient and he stands up for the Oldman, being able to relate to him. Hemingway’s sentence structure and writing style represents the comparison and contrast between setting, people, and objects, along with emphasizing how it is to have and be nothing.

The dialog about the couple between the two waiters is classic. The older waiter states, The guard will pick him up, then the younger waiter goes on to say What does it matter if he gets what he is after? I believe this conversation shows a dramatic difference in age between these two men, while the older waiter knows and thinks about the consequences and effects his actions will place upon him, the younger waiter does not and lives for the moment, which is a typical characteristic of youth. As one grows older they come to realize the differences in living for the moment and living for the moment in a rational way. One can still live for the moment and be spontaneous but do it in a way that it will not have high consequences upon others. Late into the night the younger waiter cuts the old man off of the brandy so he could lock up and get home to his own wife. The young man believes his time is too valuable to waste on people whom have nobody or nowhere to go. What is an hour? More to me than to him. This young man does not actually believe that his time is more precious than the old mans time; he was just in a hurry. What is the difference of getting home to your wife at 2am or 3am? The only difference that I notice when it is already that late is the number on the clock. The two waiters then go on to discuss the characteristics between a young and older person, using themselves as the symbols to

Nathan had more exposure to his hero through befriending his brother, Jerry Levov. Jerry was radically different than the Swede as Nathan recounts. He had a fiery side, unlike his cool, calm, and collected brother. Nathan was one if not the only friend to Jerry in high school. “I would have not otherwise have played in Jerry Levov’s basement. If it weren’t for the opportunity to tell

The older waiter, a more understanding and seasoned man, has lost his youth and is beginning to realize that the obliteration of his existence is approaching. He claims that he is the type of person who “[likes] to stay late at the café” (496), meaning that he requires a place of order and cleanliness just to take his mind off of death, and the idea of nothingness. These thoughts translate into the way he treats the old drunken man; he lets the old man lurk around the café because he needs “a light for the night” (496) to chase

Ernest Hemingway developed his own style of writing and follows it in “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place”. Hemingway’s elegance in writing is such that he indirectly gives all of the information to the reader without making any judgment; thus allowing one to create an opinion about every minute detail of the story. Hemingway illustrates his foundations of writing in “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” by providing small clues that provide an indirect view of the larger meaning.

     Hemingway's short story, "A Clean Well-lighted Place", takes place at a cafe very late at night. Two waiters are watching their last, lingering customer, an old man, who is by now very drunk. The younger waiter's impatience and the older waiter's understanding toward the old man carry out the theme of the story: "It [life] was all a nothing and a man was a nothing too."(114) Man must consequently find something to distract himself from his horrible truth. For the old man and the older waiter, "a clean and well-lighted" cafe is such an escape.

The author of A Clean Well-Lighted Place wants to give the reader something from reading this. The reader gets Hemingway’s message, his point of view, his theme he is pushing throughout the story. Hemingway’s message is having to do with the meaningless of life and the struggles we could face. This message is reflected upon the interactions between characters, the internal conflict within the older waiter, and the setting of the story.

In his short story “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place,” Ernest Hemingway, uses his usual style of elegant, yet unembellished, prose to depict one late night interaction between an old man, a young waiter, and an older waiter. The story takes place at a café in Madrid, during the era following the “Lost Generation” and is apparent, given the contrasting perspectives of the characters. The part of the story where the young waiter refills the old man’s brandy with an agitated demeanor and the old man desires nothing more than to drink continuously, as he does on a nightly basis, illuminates the broader concerns of the of the story. This passage, although centered around the story's supporting characters, unveils the idea of nothingness before the reader's introduction to the word nada. Hemingway's “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place,” is a revelation to the elaborate complexity of emotional fulfillment versus the existential crisis of spiritual and emotional emptiness, between the young and the old, throughout this particular generational gap.

This emotional struggle is proven when the waiter says that the old man has attempted to commit suicide. There is also a similar emotional struggle with the older waiter who is dealing with loneliness and despair. This is shown throughout the story as he continuously talks about the bare nothingness he has experienced.

What makes Hemingway's work such a masterpiece is its ability to make the reader relate. The theme of solitude and loneliness is experienced by every human. In Ernest Hemingway's short story “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place”, Hemingway addresses many meaningful and purposeful issues. Issues that relate to life and our purpose of life. In the story the young waiter is having the topic of life and its purpose brought upon him, he learns that others find purpose in other things and places. Things that he may find useless. Throughout the short story, Hemingway uses plenty of literary devices, symbolism and literary structure to establish the theme and mood of the story. It is important to note Hemingway’s

The main themes found in Sophie’s Choice include the Holocaust, mental illness, friendship and betrayal. The Holocaust is seen prominently in this story because it was what the one of the main characters, Sophie Zawistowaska, had to live through. Her lover Nathan Landau had trouble with substance abuse, and he was also a paranoid schizophrenic. This was a theme that troubled some people. Nathan was a much scrutinized character. In Lackey’s “The Scandal of Jewish Rage in William Styron’s Sophie’s Choice,” he talks about how there are some scholars who believe that Nathan Landau did not have any reasonable background to be a

Nathan’s constant faith allowed him to deal calmly with the death of the mystery man by understanding that while we feel mournful during the time of death, God is going to be with us through everything.

causes Nathan to feel as if "the children in whom he lives have forsaken him" because it