You find yourself walking down an abandoned street. The clear blue sky is in sharp contrast to the dingy black street almost like they are fighting over which gets to dominate the area's color. You notice this is the same with everything around you from the sidewalk to the shops. Hemmingway's short story A Clean Well Lighted Place shows you the minor differences are the major ones .
Within every story there is a conflict, whether hidden or open it is there. The conflict in A Clean Well Lighted Place is widespread and coats every surface of the café. The primary quarrel is between light and dark. Light is talked about throughout the story by the older waiter. In most movies, whenever light strikes the main character they gain confidence, hope, and everything goes their way. A prime example of this is the Disney movie “The Sword in the Stone” since when Arthur pulls out the sword light shines down upon him from heaven and he is king. Darkness works the opposite way. The man that sits in the shadows of the leaves in ACWLP is depressed. A movie example of the foreboding sense in darkness is "Harry Potter the Sorcerers Stone" when the wizard is taking the light from the lamps. In the short story a contrast is pointed out between bars and cafes. The older waiter says that a café is better than a bar especially when the café is clean, well lighted, and doesn’t have music playing in the back round. In the end of the short story a person goes to a bar and makes comments that the lighting is good but the bar is unpolished. The character also says that a clean well lighted café is much more preferable. In reality it is true that a clean well lighted café is much better than a bar. Modern cafés that remind me of the café in ACWLP are Starbucks and Corner 2 Café.
Café chefs use recipes to make the food that they sell. Writers use something similar, a mode line. In ACWLP there are several modes going on at once. For the older waiter there is a comedic mode line. For the young waiter the mode is tragedy. The old mans mode line might be any of the four however from the way that the younger waiter describes him he is most likely in a irony. Why the old waiter's mode is comedic is since he is at peace in the beginning, then he gets into a fight with the younger waiter. The resolution comes when he tells the younger waiter that he has everything a man could want 'youth, confidence, and a job. Then it ends in a sense of calm. The young waiters world is in conflict when the story starts. He is angry at everything especially the old man, for taking up his time and being drunk. The young waiter rises to power when he tells the old man to leave. He then loses his temporary power when the old man leaves. The symbol of death comes after the end when he becomes the old man. The old man's world is in chaos he is lonely and depressed. He struggles to hold on to his sanity once he is drunk and returns home to his bitter, lonely life.
Whether it is in the store or at home treat everyone with respect since you wont always know what their life is like. Notice all of the subtle differences around you, they may be small but they make a big difference.
Within every story there is a conflict, whether hidden or open it is there. The conflict in A Clean Well Lighted Place is widespread and coats every surface of the café. The primary quarrel is between light and dark. Light is talked about throughout the story by the older waiter. In most movies, whenever light strikes the main character they gain confidence, hope, and everything goes their way. A prime example of this is the Disney movie “The Sword in the Stone” since when Arthur pulls out the sword light shines down upon him from heaven and he is king. Darkness works the opposite way. The man that sits in the shadows of the leaves in ACWLP is depressed. A movie example of the foreboding sense in darkness is "Harry Potter the Sorcerers Stone" when the wizard is taking the light from the lamps. In the short story a contrast is pointed out between bars and cafes. The older waiter says that a café is better than a bar especially when the café is clean, well lighted, and doesn’t have music playing in the back round. In the end of the short story a person goes to a bar and makes comments that the lighting is good but the bar is unpolished. The character also says that a clean well lighted café is much more preferable. In reality it is true that a clean well lighted café is much better than a bar. Modern cafés that remind me of the café in ACWLP are Starbucks and Corner 2 Café.
Café chefs use recipes to make the food that they sell. Writers use something similar, a mode line. In ACWLP there are several modes going on at once. For the older waiter there is a comedic mode line. For the young waiter the mode is tragedy. The old mans mode line might be any of the four however from the way that the younger waiter describes him he is most likely in a irony. Why the old waiter's mode is comedic is since he is at peace in the beginning, then he gets into a fight with the younger waiter. The resolution comes when he tells the younger waiter that he has everything a man could want 'youth, confidence, and a job. Then it ends in a sense of calm. The young waiters world is in conflict when the story starts. He is angry at everything especially the old man, for taking up his time and being drunk. The young waiter rises to power when he tells the old man to leave. He then loses his temporary power when the old man leaves. The symbol of death comes after the end when he becomes the old man. The old man's world is in chaos he is lonely and depressed. He struggles to hold on to his sanity once he is drunk and returns home to his bitter, lonely life.
Whether it is in the store or at home treat everyone with respect since you wont always know what their life is like. Notice all of the subtle differences around you, they may be small but they make a big difference.
1 comment:
Nice job overall, but towards the end, didn't you do what Mr.Graf warned against last year? You listed symbolisms directly, however you can do the same thing without explicitly saying it.
--Yash
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