Response to a clean well light
Response to a clean well-lightRESPONSE TO “A CLEAN WELL-LIGHTED PLACE”
The old man, who we will call the “Gentleman,”-- to keep the confusion minimal between the old man and the old waiter -- in “A Clean Well-Lighted Place” cannot be happy without his wife. The two waiters represent the Gentleman’s battle of his inner consciousness. The waiters portray the demons of the Gentleman’s personal heaven and hell. We recognize this by Hemingway’s use of characterization. Hemingway never identifies a particular part to the extended dialogue, because ultimately it is one stream of consciousness (the Gentleman’s). This reveals everything is nothing to the old man; though he has money now (everything) he has lost his wife (nothing).
The Gentleman experiences purgatory, in a spiritual sense, on Earth through the waiters. The waiters – young and old – represent a part of the Gentleman. The young waiter represents the Gentleman in his youth by having confidence and inexperience. The old waiter is just coming out of middle age and even though the old waiter is poor he still understands that the money doesn’t matter. Also, the Gentleman can relate to the old waiter because he doesn’t believe money is significant either. So, the more the old man drinks the more these images of his inner self come out. Every night the Gentleman thinks what it would be like to be able to go home to his wife he had once been with and how the clean and pleasant caf� is a waste of his time. The younger waiter shows this when he says, “I want to go home to bed” and “He (the Gentleman) can buy a bottle and drink at home.” Also, the two waiters go back and forth discussing money. The young waiter thinks that if the Gentleman has plenty of money he shouldn’t have any problems. On the other hand, the old waiter understands that either way, if you have money or if you don’t, you still are lonely. Then the young waiter says that the caf� is a “waste of time” and how he “hates to stay out until 3:00a.m.” The old waiter says that the caf� is a place to come and ease your pain. The two waiters conflict shows that the Gentleman goes through pain and torture (purgatory) while at the caf� every night drinking.
Purgatory is a place or state of temporary suffering or “a place or state of punishment wherein according to Roman Catholic doctrine the souls of those who die in God's grace may make satisfaction for past sins and so become fit for heaven,” according to Miriam-Webster Dictionary. When you start to bring in the spirituality of the matter (Heaven and Hell) then you can understand the Gentleman’s position and some of the actions he takes. Only Catholicism deals with purgatory. We start to see this...
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