DDrokenss

In “A Clean Well-Lighted Place”, Ernest Hemingway introduces two men with differing outlooks on life. However, the difference in their philosophy is due almost completely to their differing circumstances and environment. The young man is married, while the old man is alone with only a job. Due to the ambiguous nature of the two men’s dialogue, many disagree on the meaning of the work. Harold Bloom views “A Clean Well-Lighted Place” as an inner struggle within the life of the old waiter. Warren Bache however views the story as a struggle between two differing ways of life as represented by the young and older waiter. I will explore the differing views of conflict within “A Clean Well-Lighted Place” by Harold Bloom and Warren Bache.
Harold Bloom views the central conflict within the story as an inner conflict within the older waiter. Bloom points out, “What is most devastating in this tale is emptiness, a loss of faith, a lack of spiritual underpinnings and external connections.” The older man experiences an absence of meaning in his life due to his lack of motivation from any source. Unlike the younger waiter, he holds no wife and only works. Hemingway’s focus on the older waiter even after he leaves work reveals an inner conflict, rather than a conflict between the two waiters. The old waiter stands as a character who faces the nothingness of existence but still persists onward. Hemmingway “has shown us the private battles going on every moment and resulting in a quiet heroism” (Bloom). The older waiter’s willingness to keep the clean well-lighted place open elevates his character to the status of hero. Bloom explains, “Ranged against this nihilistic despair are the forces of light and order represented by the café.” The older waiter keeps the café open because he sympathizes with the people who are in need of such a place. Although the older waiter still experiences the vast meaninglessness of life he still persists onward providing comfort to others who face nothingness. Harold Bloom and Warren Bache however do agree on the fact that the clean well-lighted place is only able to provide an artificial meaning for anybody occupying. Bloom explains that although the lighted place provides a sense of order, “This sense of order is artificial and fleeting, and lasts only until the haste and selfishness of the young waiter causes the café to close for the night” (Bloom). Despite the artificial nature of the café, Bloom still views the older waiter as a hero standing against the sense of nihilism that he has grown engulfed in.
Warren Bache shies away from the introspective view which Harold Bloom entertains and views the story as a struggle between differing generations. Bache believes that Hemingway set up the story in order to portray two differing ways of life, “the young waiter standing for a materialistic way of life; the older waiter and the old man standing for a nihilistic (notice the parody of the Lord's Prayer) way of life” (Bache). Contrary to Bloom’s view, neither the older or younger waiter is made a hero since each “are devoid of spiritual values” (Bache). Bache views the younger waiter and the older waiter as two characters that are more similar than they appear. Though they differ in age, the two men’s circumstances seem to work as one of the only factors determining their differing views and behavior. The younger waiter’s marriage provides him with the meaning which he needs in life. The older waiter however possesses only his job to give him meaning. However, within the younger waiter’s dialogue “the young waiter admits that there is a difference between drinking at home and drinking at the café” (Bache). This admission proves that the younger and older waiter’s actual ideologies differ little. Instead their present circumstances stand as the largest difference between them. Warren Bache explains the situation in his words, “It is evident that the young waiter's attitude toward life is more akin to the older waiter's than he would care to admit” (Bache). Because of the vast similarity of the two waiters, the story presents a conflict between the young and old.
Conflict within “A Clean Well-Lighted Place” serves to illuminate the nothingness of life one must face while lacking personal meaning. The interactions between the young and older waiter serve to portray their differing views on life’s meaning. Despite the similarity of the meaning derived from “A Clean Well-Lighted Place”, Harold Bloom and Warren Bache hold differing views on the nature of the central conflict within the story. Harold Bloom views the conflict as one within the older waiter, while Warren Bache views the story’s conflict as existing between generations. Either view serves to illuminate the nihilism and disparity that the older waiter feels.

Holding onto the Past

In A Streetcar Named Desire, Blanche Dubois fashions a nice appearance and high ideals in order to gain back the love she once lost. She experiences guilt due to her former husband’s homosexual affair and attempts to exert an air of impressiveness with people she meets in order to hide her feelings of inadequacy. Furthermore, after the death of all her family, Blanche grows fearful of dying alone. Due to her only love occurring at a young age, Blanche portrays an air of youth in order to gain back the love she lost. Tennessee Williams shows Blanche’s yearning for new love and her constant façade created to hide her flaws through his use of Blanche’s jealous dialogue, color symbolism and lighting.
Throughout the play, Blanche guilt’s her sister for achieving what she desires. Blanche struggles to acknowledge her sisters love of Stanley not only because he fails to stand up to her ideals, but also because she yearns for the feeling of love that her sister claims. After discovering Stanley’s background and seeing his badges, she asks her sister “He had those on when you met him” (24)? Blanche searches for any reason to view Stanley and Stella’s love as superficial. When Stella begins to describe her love for Stanley, Blanche quickly changes the subject and begins to guilt her sister about leaving Belle Reve. She accuses Stella of ignoring her situation, asking “Where were you! In bed with your – Polack!” (27). Blanche blames her own inability to find love on her sister, explaining “I took the blows in my face and body.” (26) Blanche claims that her responsibility in taking care of her dying family caused damage to her youth and appearance. Blanche believes Stella’s ability to find love derives from her abandonment of Belle Reve. Blanche continues to devalue her sister’s marriage as she refers to Stanley as “common” and “bestial” (71). Blanche’s insults reveal her attempts at hiding her own jealousy. Throughout Blanche’s dialogue, her jealousy of Stella and Stanley’s marriage shows.
Tennessee Williams uses color symbolism throughout the play in order to display Blanche’s fading ideals and the contrasting ideals of those around her. When Blanche first arrives in New Orleans she dresses “in a white suit” and “white gloves and hat” (15). The white color of her apparel portrays her high ideals and her perception of herself as innocent and uncorrupted despite her promiscuous past. As explained in the play, the name Blanche even means white. Blanche’s high ideals stem from her relationship with her only love. Stella claims Blanche “didn’t just love him but worshipped the ground he walked on” (102). After giving her best attempt at marriage, Blanche develops feelings of inadequacy due to her husband’s affair and suicide. Blanche’s inability to truly retain her youth and high ideals show in her once white letters to her lover that begin “yellowing with antiquity” (41). Blanche’s ideals also stem from her childhood circumstances. Eunice describes Belle Reve as “A great big place with white columns” (17), displaying Blanche’s heritage. “The “faded white stairs” (13) that lead to Stella and Stanley’s home reveal the main conflict between Blanche and Stella. Stella has turned away from the ideals of her heritage due to her love of Stanley. Stella’s love upsets Blanche because of her failure to find love while retaining her high ideals.
The theme of light and dark portrays Blanche’s attempts of hiding her true age and behavior. When Blanche first meets Stella, Blanche demands that she “turn that over-light off!” (19). Blanche demands the lights remain off in order to hide her aging. Blanche feels that she must retain the amount of youth she possessed during her first love as a seventeen year old. Blanche explains falling in love, “It was like you suddenly turned a blinding light on something that had always been in shadow” (95). Blanche views her first marriage as her peak years and tries to retain her seventeen year old self. When explaining the boy’s death, Blanche says “And then the searchlight which had been turned on the world was turned off again” (96). After her husband’s suicide, she blames herself and begins to feel inadequate. She later explains “Such things as art- as poetry and music – such kinds of new light have come into the world.” (72). Her words show that she equates light with art, which she values most. Blanche grows ashamed of her promiscuous past and hides outside of the light because she disvalues her true self. Since Blanche found love at a young age, she believes she needs to keep up her youthful appearance and hide her past in order to fall in love again.
In A Streetcar Named Desire, Blanche Dubois hides behind a façade of high ideals and youthfulness. Blanche attempts to retain her seventeen year old self in an attempt to someday relive the love she once possessed. She feels deficient and uses her high ideals as a charade to hide her promiscuous past. Tennessee Williams portrays Blanche’s guilt of her husband’s affair and her fear of dying alone in his use of color symbolism, lighting and the guilt she attempts to place in others. Blanche fights with reality throughout the play only for reality to eventually gain the upper hand.

Promontory -
a high point of land or rock projecting into the sea or other water beyond the line of coast; a headland.
Anchorite - a person who has retired to a solitary place for a life of religious seclusion.
Propitious - presenting favorable conditions; favorable.
Sultry - oppressively hot and close or moist.
Altercation - a heated or angry dispute; noisy argument or controversy.
Divination -
the practice of attempting to foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge by occult or supernatural means.
Annuity -
a specified income payable at stated intervals for a fixed or a contingent period, often for the recipient's life, in consideration of a stipulated premium paid either in prior installment payments or in a single payment.
Attenuated - to weaken or reduce in force, intensity, effect, quantity, or value.
Fortnight - the space of fourteen nights and days; two weeks.
Rueful - causing sorrow or pity; pitiable; deplorable.
ethereal - light, airy, or tenuous.