"A Clean Well-Lighted Place- by Ernest Hemingway.
In the story "A Clean Well Lighted Place-, Ernest Hemingway reveals the conflict of loneliness versus comfort by creating a café that is more than just a place to eat. This becomes evident when the main character, an elderly, deaf man comes to the café each night and stays until closing. Hemingway uses setting, characterization, and symbolism to help the reader grasp and understand the conflict.
At the beginning of the story, the setting is descibed for the reader. The author says "It was late and everyone had left the café except an old man who sat in the shadow of the leaves of the tree - The use of shadow creates an image of darkness, where the old man sits alone. However, the café counteracts the darkness. Perhaps the old man seeks out this well lighted place to comfort his dark and lonely life. .
Hemingway uses characterization to develop the old man's loneliness. He uses the old mans deafness to show how his life is seperated from the rest of the world. Even his ears have a sort of darkness to them as they keep out the sounds around him. This silence is just another way that allows the reader to see how lonely the old man is. Therefore the old man allows himself to withdraw from the world and reflect on how lonely he is. .
Hemingway uses the word nada to represent "nothing- in the story. Toward the end of the story, the waiter quotes two powerful prayers. During these passages he replaces meaningful words with nada. Hemingway also uses the metaphor of insomnia. Both the old man and the waiter seem to have insomnia. In reality they both fear the sense of loneliness in their lives. Hemingway said, -He would lie in the bed and finally with daylight, he would go to sleep."" .
