Imagery in "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place"

Short Story:

The Brighter Picture:

Nothing

Ernest Hemingway's Literature

Hemingway's Personal Life Relative in his Writings

Good vs. Bad/Right vs. Wrong

Obvious Imagery

Ernest Hemingway also writes about nothing. The reason that the old man tried committing suicide was "because he was in despair over nothing." (Hemingway 1)

What matters more than absolutely anything in life???? Nothing. And with a glass of Brandy in your hand, in Hemingway's Clean, Well-lit bar, (don't quote me on this) but that point that nothing mattered most was easily proven true.

Like I briefly got into, Ernest Hemingway was a, little bit of a weird guy. He wrote about drinking and suicide and he was known for drinking too much alcoholic beverages at times, as well as the fact that he committed suicide.

In "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place", the best and most obvious imagery is the clean, well lighted bar that our main character, the old man, goes into for a drink. It's 2 o'clock in the morning and the man is the last customer in the cafe. We learn from the younger of the two waiters in the bar that the old man is a dark figure in society and he recently tried committing suicide. Where does this man go to escape the darkness and trouble in his life??

A Clean, Well-lighted Place.

Hemingway is known for writing about decision making and in "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place" you see this through the way that the two waiters dispute over letting the old man stay late for another drink. The old waiter finally allows the anxious young waiter to go and tell the old man that the cafe is closing. The older waiter cared a bit more for the old man's fine night rather than his personal intentions of getting home and going to sleep. It was about giving up a little of his time for the old man; not about himself getting what he wanted most.

Introduction:

Real World Connection:

My Argument

People find their light in many different places

Ernest Hemingway is a very unique writer and this point is shined upon in "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place,"

So this guy walks into a Clean Well Lighted Place......

Everyone needs some Light in their Life

...And by the time the old waiter will be getting back up to go to work, the sun will just be setting.

It is here that you realize why someone who literally lives their life in darkness, truly does appreciate a simple, clean, well-lighted place.

At the end of the story, the older waiter goes out to a bodega for a drink himself, after locking up the cafe. In this point of the story we see how the waiter himself appreciates a clean, well-lighted bar. The (third person omniscient) narrator also tells us how by the time that the old waiter will get home to his house and finally go to sleep, the sun will just be under the horizon.......

Imagery

Ernest Hemingway

Imagery is a figurative description used to paint clearer pictures to readers and show detail.

Ernest Hemingway was a creative man especially in his writings. He enjoyed hunting, sailing, traveling, and drinking. He also wrote about suicide in a few pieces of his literature, including "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place". In 1961 he ended his own life. My advice (stay away from writing about suicide) Ernest was a very unique writer, known for using a style addressed as "Winner Take Nothing".

Imagery in "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place"

Izaiah Bokunewicz