The Symbolism Of Light In Hemingway's Work

Throughout his work, Hemingway explores internal and existential conflicts in the characters he creates. Most of these conflicts arise due to the fact that the characters he writes about are currently fighting in a war, or have recently returned from battle. The chaotic and unsettling nature of the violence these men experience provokes and leaves unresolved important questions about the nature of life and death. Although the war and violence have caused irreversible damage for many, Hemingway offers symbols of hope in nearly every story. Through the repetition of light throughout his stories, Hemingway may illuminate a path towards an ideal life, which is unattainable or has been deemed unimportant for some. In his stories set in active …show more content…
The most prominent example of the light in Hemingway’s writing can be found in “A Clean Well-Lighted Place.” The suicidal old man “who sat in the shadow the leaves of the tree made against the electric light,” makes the conscious choice in his seating which reveals much more about his character and yearning (ACWLP 1). The seemingly paradoxical choice of sitting in the shade at night could further the idea that he has the opportunity to come into the light in order to change his life to strive for something different, but he selects the shade instead, a representation of his abandonment of life itself. The deaf man brings himself to the bar and the light every night, but eventually he always leaves, walking off into the darkness, putting the light and hope behind him. The old waiter also attempts to cure the flaws in his life as well as provide salvation for those who need it through the lights of the bar, proclaiming that “the light is very good,” and that light is all one needs for a pleasant place (ACWLP 4). When he begins to contemplate the nothingness of man, he states that “It was all a nothing and a man was nothing too. It was only that and light was all it needed,” (ACWLP 5). Only in the light can the man be purposeful. In the dark he is nothing. When the old waiter finally goes home he decides that “he would lie in the bed and finally, with daylight, he would go to sleep,” he provides another example of how the light serves as a way to cope with what he declares as “probably only insomnia,” but is probably more similar to depression or despair (ACWL 5). (Say more about ACWLP and the light). “Big Two-Hearted River” also shows Nick who has come back from conflict and faces a dark world aided by the presence of light. On Nick’s journey, the wilderness can be seen as an obstacle he must overcome as a way of healing, and