The Black River: a Literary Analysis on the Theme and Supporting Elements of Ernest Hemmingway’s Short Story “a Clean, Well-Lighted Place”

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Justin Egan Professor Engler EngWr 301 7-9-12 The Black River: A Literary Analysis on the Theme and Supporting Elements of Ernest Hemmingway’s Short Story “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” The short story “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place,” written in 1933 by Ernest Hemmingway, starts in a well-lighted café late at night with two waiters talking about a recent suicide attempt made by the old man sitting in their café. Through heavy use of dialogue, key characteristics of each character are developed. The older man has a background story of his own. The younger waiter is just that; young, impatient, and arrogant. And the middle age waiter, who is the most detailed of the three, has a darker understanding of both of the other two characters. Hemmingway cleverly uses a combination of characters, tone, style, irony, and symbolism to portray his theme of the despair and dissatisfaction we feel from the realization that life has no meaning. Hemmingway uses three unnamed characters as his first element to illustrate the idea of despair. The first of which is an old man. He does not talk, only drinks at the café until he’s drunk, then leaves without paying. There is also a younger waiter. He is both rash and arrogant. Lastly, Hemmingway uses a middle aged waiter. This one is more round than the other two flat characters. Hemmingway uses this person to depict the deeper effects of despair within a person. Each character in one way or another portrays their struggle against despair. The old man introduces the struggle against despair. However, since he does not talk, his story is told through the dialogue between the other two waiters. Through the course of their conversation, the reader quickly finds out a number of details behind the old man’s life. The first is that he has a lot of money. This, however, does not appeal to him and seems to have no effect on the severity of his

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