Introduction
As Hoffman points out in his literary criticism, “it is often the nature of old men of question their value and in turn, the material and non-material in their lives” (Hoffman, 1990). This is what is called the feeling of “nothingness,” which is the unrelenting emptiness without companion or comfort of God or man that is mostly associated with the old age. In the real world, as people get older, they begin to question the real-life meaning; is there a meaning? Or is everything merely nothing? Thus, in trying to answer these questions, this paper analyses the concept of nothingness, despair, and loneliness in the short story of “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place.” This story clearly demonstrates this major theme. “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” story was written by Ernest Hemingway and first published in 1933 in Scribner’s magazine. In this short story, the use of symbolism, characters, theme, and plot creates a complex and intricate story line. Hemingway accentuates on isolation, despair, and loneliness as the main themes in this story to assist readers to understand the key ideas. Additionally, the elements of plot including characters and symbolism help to keep readers engaged in the story by giving guidance to the reader and making the story more fascinating.
The story starts with the introduction of three main characters: the old waiter, the old man, and the young waiter. The old man is sited in the café drinking brandy, and he comes in the café every night to get drunk up o late hours. One waiter tells the other that the man had previously tried to commit suicide. The two waiters start a conversation in the café, just before closing the café to head home for the night. However, they cannot leave because there is still one customer in the café, the old man. The younger waiter is rude to the old man and he is anxious to get home to his wife while the older waiter tries to understand and sympathizes with the old man. The old man remains to be the topic of discussion of these two waiters for the most part of the story. Eventually, both waiters leave the café early to go home, and as the older waiter leaves, he contemplates the young waiter and the old man and the meaning of both their actions.
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First, Hemingway explores the nothingness idea through his character’s thoughts, the older waiter, and he effectively produces an atmosphere that is philosophical and thought-provoking in the story by exposing his inner character workings:
Our nada who art in nada, nada be thy name thy kingdom nada thy will be nada in nada as it is in nada. Give us this nada our daily nada and nada us our nada as we nada our nadas and nada us not into nada but deliver us from nada; pues nada. Hail nothing full of nothing, nothing is with thee (Hemingway, 1990).
The older waiter asserting the word “nada” into the Lord’s Prayer may be possible that by doing so, Hemingway is emphasizing to the reader the prayer or religion futility and that in essence life signifies nothing. Meaning that a person’s religion and prayer use in times of despair to provide meaning to their lives may be an exercise that is pointless to some individuals.
Also, how lonely the old man is may be manifested through his desire of getting drunk while in the café. This may be possible through the use of alcohol as a symbol in which the old man is able to get away from the life realities or find some comfort. This clearly comes out in the conversation between the young waiter and the old man:
The old man looked from his glass across the square, then over at the waiters. "Another brandy," he said, pointing to his glass. The waiter who was in a hurry came over. "Finished," he said, speaking with that omission of syntax stupid people employ when talking to drunken people or foreigners. "No more tonight. Close now." "Another," said the old man. "No. Finished." The waiter wiped the edge of the table with a towel and shook his head (Hemingway, 1990).
Besides, Hemingway appears to be using symbolism in this short story to further support the main themes. First, the imagery of deafness of the old man in the café. Deafness here may act as a symbolism of the old man being separated or totally disconnected from the rest of the world, to further stress the idea of loneliness. Regardless, the old man still requires to stay in the bar, which is a perceptibly a socializing place, since he is still attempting to fight the loneliness from his life. In this case, it may be possible that it is only in the cafe that the old man feel less isolated from the rest of the globe (he finds refuge in the cafe) due to the quiet and peaceful environment which the café gives in contrast to the streets’ morning bustle and hustle. This is clearly depicted in a statement:
It was very late and everyone had left the café except an old man who sat in the shadow the leaves of the tree made against the electric light. In the day time the street was dusty, but at night the dew settled the dust and the old man liked to sit late because he was deaf and now at night it was quiet and he felt the difference (Hemingway, 1990).
By and length, Hemingway possibly uses another imagery of light as symbolism in the story. Light is used as a symbol that illuminates the life of the lonely people, to shatter them away from their despair, like the old man. The older waiter understands that all that is required sometimes to keep despair and loneliness away is a café that is well-lighted and not going home to bed. As supported by the older waiter comments in Hemingway (1990):
I am of those who like to stay late at the café," the older waiter said. "With all those who do not want to go to bed. With all those who need a light for the night ….Each night I am reluctant to close up because there may be someone who needs the café." "Hombre, there are bodegas open all night long." "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.
In conclusion, Hemingway short story, “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” commensurably uses themes, symbolism, and characters to create a story line that is intricate and complex, to keep the readers engaged as well as to help them understand the key ideas in the story. The themes of nothingness, despair, and loneliness stand out well to be the main themes in the story, and I chose to analyze them because they help add meaning to the story, which some readers may not understand by just plainly reading the story.
References
Hemingway, E. (1990). A clean well-lighted place . Creative Education.
Hoffman, L. (1990). Constructing realities: An art of lenses. Family process , 29 (1), 1-12.
