An Analysis of the Language Features of Hemingway’s A Clean， Well—Lighted Place

Liang Yuan

【Abstract】Hemingway is a world famous master for his unique writing style featured by simple words， short and concise sentences. This kind of style is represented in A Clean， Well-Lighted Place. The ingenious use of linguistic devices such as simple and terse language style， the ironic tone and repetition makes the short story become one of Hemingways most popular masterpieces .

【Key words】Hemingway； simple words； ironic tone； repetition

Introduction

Ernest Hemingway is a famous novelist of the 20th century in American history. Compared with the popular tedious style at that time， Hemingways style was fresh and simple， which was commended by the majority of scholars later. A Clean， Well-Lighted Place has become one of his most representative short stories. Just a few more than one thousand words， the writer depicted a combination of dynamic and static image： Late at night， leaves were swaying in the shadow outside； inside of the cafe， an old customer was bending his head to drink； two waiters —a young and an old waiter were looking at the street out of the window while talking about the story happened in the lonely elderly customer.

1. Simple and terse language style

Concise and simple are the most striking features of Hemingway's novel language. He believes that the less words， the better. Hemingway was quite stingy in his description. “I always try to write on the principle of the iceberg. There is seven eighths of it under water for every part that shows.”（Zhai，1994：361） He often use simple and short sentences to express his feelings. Hemingways aim and achievement were to convey his concerns in a prose style built from what was left after eliminating all the words one “could not stand to here”.（Baym，1985：1685） Please look at the opening part of the story： “It was late and every one had left the cafe except an old man who sat in the shadow the leaves of the tree made against the electric light. In the day time the street was dusty， but at night the dew settled the dust and the old man liked to sit late...”

Just a few words， without any complex sentences， it is easy for readers to know the time， place and characters of the story. The writer lightly sketched out a picture of a lonely people who was drowning his sorrows in wine.

2. The ironic tone

In contemporary criticism， tone is used to designate the way in which the authors attitudes are conveyed through language without being presented directly as statement in a literary work. （Yan，1990：62） When reading Hemingways novel， what impresses reader most is his calm and objective tone. In order to achieve objective narrative effects， Hemingway weakens the narrators voice intentionally. Nevertheless， any writer will inevitably show some emotions to the characters or events in his work. Hemingway is no exception. A Clean Well-Lighted Place implies the writers ironic tone， which can be discerned through the dialogues between the two waiters：

“Why didnt you let him stay and drink？” the unhurried waiter asked. They were putting up the shutters. “It is not half-past two.” “I want to go home to bed.” “What is an hour？” “More to me than to him.” “An hour is the same.” “You talk like an old man yourself. He can buy a bottle and drink at home.” “Its not the same.”

From the remarks of the younger waiter， we can infer that he was unsympathetic and selfish. On the contrary， the older waiter was full of sympathy with the old man. He could understand the old man because he has the same feelings of loneliness and emptiness as the old man. He knows everyone would be old one day. In fact this dialogue implies the author's sarcastic tone： the young waiter will be also old one day， and he also can not escape the fate of loneliness and emptiness from which the elderly are suffering. The old mans today is the tomorrow of the young waiter.

3. The use of repetition

In A Clean Well-Lighted Place， many key words are repeated again and again： shadow， clean， light， late， nothing， nada， etc. The most obvious repetition is the narration of the older waiters nothing feeling： “Some lived in it and never felt it but he knew it all was nada y pues nada y nada y pues nada. Our nada who art in nada， nada be thy name thy kingdom nada thy will be nada in nada...Hail nothing full of nothing， nothing is with thee.” After reading this passage， except the two words “nada” and “nothing”， readers may be in a confused mind. In this paragraph， the word “nothing” appeared six times. Moreover， he uses word “nada” （twenty-one times） which is similar meaning to “nothing”. The author deliberately put this passage at the end of the novel， which strengthened the theme of nothingness.

Conclusion

In conclusion， Hemingway is a world famous master in literature for his unique writing style featured by simple words， short and concise sentences.For Hemingways works， only by repeated reading and chewing can we taste a variety of flavors and fully dig its deep implication.

References：

[1]Baym，Nina et al，comp.The Norton Anthology of American Literature 2 ed.Vol.2.New York：Norton，1985.

[2]Yan Zhongzhi.An Introduction to Literary Criticism.Chongqing：Sichua International Studies University，1990.

[3]Zhai Shizhao.Selected Readings in American Literature.Kaifeng：Henan.University Press，1994.