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Known to be one of the greatest writers of our century, Ernest Hemingway has written such literary masterpieces such as, The Sun Also Rises, For Whom the Bell Tolls, and possibly his most famous, A Farewell to Arms. While Hemingway has exemplified his uncanny ability in his novels, he also wrote wonderful short stories such as A Clean, Well-Lighted Place. This short story takes place in a pleasant caf in an urban location. The story circulates around three main characters, the old man, the old waiter, and the young waiter. The characters in all of his writings are multi-dimensional and have distinct personalities. A Clean, Well-Lighted Place illustrates the devastating effects of loneliness through the character of the old man and the old waiter.
The old man who is a regular at the caf and drinks until the early morning hours is clearly Hemingway's symbol for loneliness in this story. His sorrow and solitude are apparent throughout the whole story especially towards the beginning. The two waiters tending to the deaf old man ridicule and explain the pain and sorrow the old man is experiencing, 'Last week he tried to commit suicide He should have killed himself last week' (41). These two sentences do all the explaining needed to tell the reader about the old man. The old man is so lonely that he feels that by killing himself he will be escaping his sorrows, but a failed suicide attempt leads him to alcohol for a temporary escape from the pain of his life. The old mans feeling of loneliness is most likely closely related the when the old waiter says, 'He had a wife once too' (42).
This statement leads the reader to believe that the loss of the old mans wife is the source of his anguish and thus why he is so unhappy. While Hemingway does a great job having the waiters talk about the old mans sorrows, he purposely implements lines where the loneliness of the waiters can be seen as well. The younger waiter who seems to be content with his life is annoyed at how long the old man is staying around because he has someone waiting for him, 'Hes lonely, Im not lonely, I have a wife waiting in bed for me' (42). While this quote shows that the younger waiter doesnt feel hes living a lonely life, the lack of response from the old waiter shows that he doesnt have that in his life and in turn is probably experiencing the same thing the old man is, the only difference being is that he can cover it up and live with it.
The old waiters loneliness is not shown in the words he says, but rather the lack of response from when the younger waiter makes comments such as, 'Hell stay here all night Im sleepy now. I never get to bed before three oclock' (41). The fact that the younger waiter gets annoyed shows that he not only misses not getting enough sleep, but that he also misses the lack of time with his wife. The more important fact to come out of that quote though is the fact that the old waiter doesnt say a thing, he simply sits their and accepts the fact that he has no where to be and no one to be with. Simply, while the old man never once talks about his loneliness his lack of responsiveness shows how he truly is feeling. In conclusion, while the loneliness of the old man is clearly stated and shown throughout the story, the loneliness of the old waiter is never directly stipulated and must be concluded by his responses to statements made by the younger waiter.
Hemingway was effective in showing how loneliness can ruin an old deaf mans life and leave him to wander around the earth aimlessly without reason to live in his mind. While at the same time he also was able to show the affect of sorrow in the life of the old waiter by having him as an opposite character to the younger waiter.
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Research essay sample on Clean Well Lighted Place Younger Waiter
