A Clean Well Lighted Place
Ernest Hemingway wrote the short story, “A Clean, Well Lighted Place”, in 1933. One theme throughout the story is a desire to be loved and how each individual replaces the love that is not there. Another theme in the story, which is mentioned in the title, is the importance of light. Light is associated with being happy. Each character exudes a quality that points toward a lack of love. The old man, who stays at the café late at night, in the electric light, to drink away his loneliness, is the most obvious example of this, someone who lacks love. The waiters at the café discuss what they know about the old man, “He tried to commit suicide”, one of the waiters says. This is a key line, why would the old man do such a thing, they say he had lots of money and therefore the waiters decide there is no logical explanation of why the old man would consider suicide.