Study on A Clean， Well—lighted Place from the Perspective of Binary Opposition

【Abstract】Ernest Hemingway was one of the most influential novelists in America literature. A Clean， Well-lighted Place is one of the most representative short novels， which has been studied by many researchers from different angles. The paper will analyze it by using the approach of binary opposition.

【Key words】Ernest Hemingway； binary opposition； A Clean； Well-lighted Place

【作者簡介】仵雨萌（1994- ），女，陜西渭南人，西北大學外國語學院，碩士研究生，主要研究方向為英語語言文學。

I. Structuralism and binary opposition

Structuralism is an intellectual movement which began in France in the 1950s and the concept derived from linguistics. The structuralists consider that all social and cultural activities of human beings in daily life is dependent upon by various codes， signs and rules. Peter Barry （2002） in his book Beginning Theory said： “Its essence is the belief that thing cannot be understood in isolation—they have to be seen in the context of the larger structures they are part of.”Structuralism applies modern structural linguistics research and methods which advocated by Ferdinand de Saussure into the literary criticism. He proposes using synchronic study to analyze the language.

Binary opposition is one of the most conceptions in the structuralism. In Saussures work General Course in Linguistics， he put forward four binary oppositions： parole & langue， synchronic & diachronic， paradigmata & syntagmata and signifier & signified. Binary oppositions can be used in literary criticism as well. He proposed that the meaning of language in works is not self-evident， but need to be antagonistic to other words， which means we should find the meaning of works in the opposite structure. Therefore， the structuralists should try to find the opposite structure that behind the works and explain the meaning.

II. A brief introduction to the author and the plot

Ernest Hemingway （1889-1961） was one of the most influential novelists in America literature. He was regarded as the most important spokesman for the Lost Generation. A Clean， Well-lighted Place is one of the most representative short novels. The story is famous for vivid description of setting， short and truthful conversations and particular internal monologue. The background of the short story is after the First World War in Madrid. The war brings a lot of scars to people in physically and mentally. People lose their hope and faith about life and future， and they live in a world which has no meaning， no thinking and no being. Therefore， people become more and more isolated and indifferent.

The short novel tells a story what happened in a clean， well-lighted café. In the middle of the night， a young waiter and an old waiter talking about the old man who is the only client. The old man is wealthy but lonely and depressed. He drinks every night and did not want to go home. And he even tries to kill himself but saved from his niece. The old waiter sympathizes with him and willing to delay closing time， but the young waiter closes the café in advance and drives him out， because the young man wants to go to bed early. The old man and two waiters are three main characters， and minor characters are a girl， a soldier and a barman. Their profession and age substitutes their name， and each of roles stand for different kind of people who already going through the war. Hemingway shows the pain caused by the cruel war and looks forward to a better world. The paper will analyze it by using the approach of binary opposition.

III. The Analysis of A Clean， Well-lighted Place

3.1 Light & Darkness

At the beginning of the story， the background explains clearly： “It was very late and everyone 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 because he was deaf and now at night it was quiet and he felt the difference.”The dark scene is depicted very vividly by using some concise words. In these sentence， the four words “dark”“shadow”“dusty”“deaf” are not only express the surface meaning， but also contain deep symbolic meaning. It can reflect the dark psychological state of the old man， and also reflect the dark world at that age. Facing to the desperate human world， the old man who has negative attitude hiding in the gloomy shadow. Apparently， a clean， well-lighted place refers to the café. But on a deeper level， it means a mental shelter for the old man. “Light” symbolizes the comfort， hope and being alive， while “darkness” represents loneliness， emptiness and desperation. The two symbolizations forms the stark contrast.

3.2 The young waiter & The older waiter

The short novel mostly presents a lot of dialogues between a younger waiter and an older waiter. We can find two different mental states about them， even though the conversation is not detailed and systematical. The younger waiter always mentions that “I am sleepy now. I never get into bed before three oclock.” “I have a wife waiting in bed for me.” “I want to go home and into bed.” many times. His words can reflect his ignorance and still too wet behind the ears. He knows little things about the world， and considers that money can solve all problems and bring happiness. So he cannot understand why the old rich man try to suicide， and do not want to leave the café where is a clean， well-lighted place. “He should killed yourself last week.” “A wife would be no good to him now.” “An old man is a nasty thing.” These sentences illustrate that although the younger waiters body in the light， his soul is numb and indifferent .

On the contrary， the older waiter is the only character who enjoys the light. “He might be better with a wife.” “This old man is clean. He drinks without spelling.” “This is a clean and pleasant café. It is well lighted. The light is very good and also， now， there are shadows of the leaves.” His words can express that he is a man with dispassionate and reasonable thinking， and he always keeps a positive attitude to face the harsh reality. He seems like the embodiment of reason and light. In other words， his soul is a real clean and well-lighted place.

3.3 Hope & Nothingness

In the short story， the old man is a regular of this restaurant， and he always sits until night， because it is a clean， well-lighted place. He is aware of the night is completely different from the daytime. Fortunately， his soul does not entirely covered by the darkness. The café is well lighted， but it does not comes from peoples heart， as well as limited and shadowed by trees. The novel mentions that “the old man who sat in the shadow the leaves of the tree made against the electric light.” three times. Even if he is able to see the existence of darkness and emptiness clearly through the weak light， he has no courage to face it， thus he will not stay in the clean， well-lighted place permanently. Therefore， the café is the only hope for his depressed soul. Actually， he already realized that something was wrong in his life， but unable to do some soul-searching. Without the guidance of light， he still cannot walk away from the dilemma of emptiness and anguish easily. Hence one can see that he is the representative of people who can see the nothingness but never detached it in that era. And suicide is meant to be their only choice.

Unlike the old man， the older waiter is able to face the nothingness directly and thinks the truth essence of life deeply. He realizes that the suicide of the old man is nothing to do with money. The older waiter said to the young waiter： “You have youth， confidence， and a job. You have everything.” “I have never had confidence and I am not young.” “We are of two different kinds. And it is not only a question of youth and confidence although those things are very beautiful.” He discerns clearly that youth is short， and confidence is unstable， just as a flash in the pan. Same as the old man， the older waiter knows the life is emptiness. More valuable is that he has the courage to think deeply and get epiphany. The most difference between them is the older waiter has the courage to assert himself against the darkness， in other words is “grace under pressure”. He considers that life is empty originally， and there is no need to care and fear it. As long as he can going through the thinking and comprehension， his soul can arrive at the clean， well-lighted place and get the spiritual peace. Thus， he said “I am of those who like to stay late at the café. With all those who do not want to go to bed. With all those who need a light for the night.” He dares to face the bleak life and the arrival of death， though living in nothingness.

IV. Conclusion

Therefore， we can notice that the young waiter presents people who are confused and unconscious， the old man presents people who already realized the confusion but unable to solve it， and the older waiter presents people who are good at thinking and facing to a brutal life. It reminds us that we should behave like the older waiter， then we are able to eliminate the nothingness and lighten the hope.

References：

[1]Barry P.Beginning Theory[M].UK：Manchester University Press， 2002.

[2]Hemingway E.The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway [M].Scribner，1998.