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Both men's appearance are said to repel the young, yet they attempt to safeguard their 'just' reputations -- Blindy even says directly that he earned his nickname in his infamous fight: "you seen me earn it" (495). Blindy says that Willie Sawyer's castrating him, although not blinding him was 'too much' during his final fight, as if bargaining with fate.
Eventually, some compassionate individual steps in to defend the reputation of the old men. In "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place" the older waiter takes the old man's side when the younger waiter casts aspersions on the old man's lack of sexual prowess -- because, it is implied that he also lives alone in similar depression and isolation. Frank the bartender tells the story of Blindy's final fight. This is essential given that even if they men believe their fates are 'just' in some fashion, they are haunted by incomplete business in their past lives -- the old man becomes maudlin after getting...
Even in old age, patterns of behavior still linger on.
There are, according to Leonard, some signs of hope in the story, through compassion, as through the example of the older waiter trying to forestall violence from occurring in the bar. Frank the bartender gives Blindy a room for the night and a drink, and Blindy raises the glass he is given as if he were sighted. Over alcohol in both stories, there is a kind of bond amongst the lonely, like the older waiter in "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place," one "of those who like to stay late at the cafe" to avoid going home, although he refuses a final drink. Forestalled violence, the loss of sexual prowess and beauty, and the difficulty of asserting dignity are evident in each tale -- as is the idea that age does not diminish the drive to prove one's self, however futilely.
This perspective gives us insight into the human condition in that it reveals that life experience is worth something and that notion is something young people simply cannot grasp fully. The young are more confident because they have not experienced as many hardships. For example, the younger waiter is "all confidence" (96) while the older waiter is not. In fact, he can relate to the old man more than
When Othello marries the white Desdemona, he presses his luck, and the tide of public favor turns against him. One of his most trusted friends turns against him and convinces him that Desdemona is having an affair with another of his friends. Othello is so blinded by jealousy and rage that he cannot see how his own band of men, his own "community" has turned against him and is
Now, without thinking further, he would go home to his room. He would lie in the bed and finally, with daylight, he would go to sleep. After all, he said to himself, it's probably only insomnia. Many must have it. This shows that the older waiter also needs a place to get himself through the night and experiences similar feelings as the old man. It is more though, than just
Ernest Hemingway The author Ernest Hemingway specialized in what is known as naturalistic writing. He tells the reader only the basic information about what is going on in a particular short story or novel. Much is told about the natural settings of the stories, but very little is given about the characters in his stories. Instead, the facts about the people, including their personalities and characteristics, have to be inferred by
He briefly outlines the argument: at one point in the story, the older waiter says "She cut him down," referring to the old man's (a customer) niece. The disputed but of dialogue is a later line that according to convention would be attributed to the older waiter: "I know. You said she cut him down." In the one existing copy of the manuscript, this line appears to be a
Either way, what they shared is gone. The interesting thing about this story is the boyfriend's inability to see things from Jig's point-of-view. He does not have to deal with the emotional aspect of abortion, so he can say things like, "It's not really an operation at all" (Hills Like White Elephants 1391). The nameless man is selfish and a liar because he tries to convince Jig "It's really