"A Clean, Well-lighted Place" Assignment

1 – Describe the setting. Why is the idea of a well-lighted place so significant to this short story? The story takes place in a café which is well-lighted and clean. The reason why it’s so significant of a well-lighted place because the old man who comes to the bar every night, comes to escape the darkness, and to have a drink. Also to mention that the old man is deaf and when it’s late at night the café is quiet and the old man can notice the difference.

2 – Why are the characters nameless?
The characters are nameless because many of doesn’t have any importance in the story. There are three main characters, the two waiters and the old deaf man. The author illustrates each of the waiters for having different views on the old man. The younger waiter assumes that since the old man has money then he has nothing to despair. On the other hand, the older waiter seems to understand the old man because he is old himself.

3 – What is the connection between the old man and the older waiter? What is the purpose of the younger waiter in the story?
The connection between the older waiter and the old man is that the older waiter understands the loneliness that the old man feels. In the story he says: "We are two different kinds." "It is not only a question of youth and confidence although those things are very beautiful. Each night, I am reluctant to close up because there may be someone who needs the cafe." The older waiter is lonely and he lives alone with no wife. He is also an insomniac. This shows that the older waiter fully understands the old man; they both resemble each other. The purpose for the younger waiter in the story is to display the difference between the two. The younger waiter doesn’t see the difference from their café from the other bar and bodegas. All he wants to do is go home to his bed with his wife.

4 – What is the plot? Be specific and briefly outline the 5 plot elements.
The story begins at a cafe very late at night. Two waiters are watching their last, lingering customer, an old man who is by now very drunk. These are the story’s three major characters.
• Conflict- the younger waiter wants to go home but he can’t because the old man is still in the café.
• Rising action- When the old man indicates that he wants another drink served, the young waiter ignores him.
• Complications- The old man realizes that the younger waiter is being offensive, but ignores him and asks out loud for the drink. When the waiter brings it, he makes it spill purposely. Moreover, knowing that the old man is deaf, as he walks away he says, “You should have killed yourself last week.”
• Climax- The younger waiter finally asks the old man to leave which he does.

5 – What is the theme (in one sentence)?
Whenever you go from for troubles will lead to a clean well-lighted place.

PART 2
Research the life of Ernest Hemingway. Compose a one paragraph biographical summary. Highlight facts about Hemingway's life experiences that are evident in "A Clean Well-Lighted Place".
Ernest Hemingway was born in Illinois in 1899, Hemingway's life was influenced early on with literature as he became a reporter directly after high-school. He served in WWI, in which he became seriously injured and then lived in Paris for a time. His passions were writing and hunting. In many of his other works, his characters typically displayed courage and integrity. Suffering from a mental condition that caused memory loss, Hemingway took his life with his favorite shotgun in 1961, an act very much unlike most of his literary characters, but surprisingly foretelling. In A Clean Well-Lighted Place Hemingway unwittingly relates the main character to himself.
http://www.booksellerworld.com/ernesthemingway-bibliography.htm