A clean well-lighted loneliness

Antonia Dauriene de Oliveira Silva

"A clean, well-lighted place" stands out from the written tales, during war times, because maybe the author Hemingway shows a different style, dealing with realistic issues and believing that life is motivated by some kind of force. It is worth inferring that this is one of the most read stories of the author Hemingway.

The two versions in their productions deal with existentialist themes, revealing a rematch of temperaments that inhabit common people, and are hidden in the form of loneliness or despair.

The setting is a café that is almost closed, with empty, clean and well lit desks, no sounds, a quiet place where the two waiter preparing to close the café. However, one man remains sitting drunk and asks another for more beverage, what innerves the younger waiter because he wants to close the cafe and go home. Then, the waiter fills his glass the drunk and says to the older waiter, that the old man had much money, but he is lonely and has attempted suicide. The old man asks for another drink, the young waiter says no and inform him that coffee will close. The waiter observes a couple on the street and do not like the attitude of the younger waiter. So, they finally close the cafe.

Afterwards, the older waiter goes out the streets looking for a cafe for a drink before going home to live his loneliness.

The setting contributes to the development of the story, because it shows us the reaction of the characters in the story with clarity, perhaps Hemingway wants to show life is meaningless and the man is nothing.

The main characters are three, the lonely old man who wants a place to drink, the older waiter with his inner loneliness that has no desire to go home and the younger waiter who is selfish and thinks about going home to find his wife.

The features of the characters are similar in both written tale and the movies: The old drunk, and the older waiter like to stay late at the cafe, because both struggle with loneliness, for the older waiter, life has no meaning it is a eternal nothing, then he preferred to clean the coffee, keeping it clean and bright. The younger waiter does not think of anyone and does not care if the coffee is a refuge for the lonely, he reveals that is not to lonely and that are anxious to go home to be with his wife.

I believe that Hemingway wants to reveal us something very important with this story, the way of seeing life as something insignificant in the fight against despair and loneliness. In addition, the author shows us that many people who struggle with inner desperation, are always alone in search of places to retreat to and penetrate the loneliness, the great void around these people can be controlled as a kind of routine in an appropriate place for refuge, like coffee, small space, clean and well lit;

Hemingway was certainly fortunate to write the short story "A clean, well-lighted place, because it leaves you curious and sharpens your imagination to try to figure out the implicitness of the story. Therefore, the fact is that information reveals that feelings such as loneliness, frustration and dissatisfaction are constantly present in human life.

Referências

SHORT STORY - “A CLEAN, WELL-LIGHTED PLACE.”

FILM VERSION- “A CLEAN, WELL-LIGHTED PLACE” – PETER HASTIC

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