Comparing A Clean Well-Lighted Place And A Farewell To Arms

The term Lost Generation describes writers and artists who came to fruition after World War I, seeking answers to their confusion and disillusionment. Living with horrific memories of war and barbarity, these men and women used literature as a practice to express their uncertainty of themselves and their chaotic feelings. Writing and art became an idiosyncrasy for the Lost Generation, as the perfect examples of the work produced by this group are, “A Clean Well-Lighted Place,” and A Farewell to Arms. Ernest Hemingway’s captivating and heart-wrenching novel, A Farewell to Arms, is a story involving the struggle of love and war, and depicts the cruel reality one can face in times of hardship. In this novel, characters are in the mist of World

“A Clean Well-Lighted Place” portrays the message that life is meaningless and some people feel lost in the sea of nothingness that Hemingway describes as life. In the story, two waiters of a café observe one of their late-night customers, a dignified and clean old man that sits by himself at a table, drinking. In a discussion between the two waiters about the old man, the older waiter says he understands that sometimes one needs to cope with their emotions in a “clean, well-lighted place,” rather than in a dark bar or bodega. For this reason, the clean and well lit café, a major symbol in the story, is used as an escape from the distress and loneliness that the characters feel. The light from the café that the old man is so comfortable with, chases away darkness, and pushes away the realization that he feels desolate. Hemingway uses this story to exhibit emptiness and how overwhelming the uncertainty of life can be, which is similar to the emotions of the Lost Generation. Being apart of the Lost Generation, Hemingway writes this story with the intention of showing the struggle to find meaning in life and something to fill the emptiness one may