Essay on Ernest Hemmingway

Thomas Bergin
4/27/2012
Ms. DeNoyelles
Amer. Lit. R.

Hemingway’s Portrayal of Isolation and Loneliness

Some people find it hard to cope with their losses and face being isolated from the world. After dealing with these problems, individuals find certain ways to be relieved of these situations. Stories can sometimes give an insight into the way people have to live through these feelings. Whether it is a war veteran or even just a lonely waiter at a café, he has to deal with emptiness and being lonely at some point in his life. The difficulties a protagonist must face in stories involving loneliness and isolation are sometimes shown through the character’s actions and the use of title. Ernest Hemingway is an author that does a fantastic job portraying these problems throughout many of his short stories. Harold Krebs in “Soldier’s Home” is a boy back from war who finds it hard to transition back to being home, while the soldier from “In Another Country” has to adapt to being away from home in Milan. Just like the other two characters, the waiter in “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” deals with being lonely and working late nights. Through characterization and significant title, Hemingway shows characters who feel isolated from society and seem empty due to their losses. To begin, Hemingway uses various details to describe and develop the characters in his stories. Harold Krebs, a young man in “Soldier’s Home” returns from war finding it difficult to fit back in. Krebs describes the changes in his hometown; it shows how hard it is to get into the groove after returning from war. When Krebs describes the way he feels he says that he, “… did not feel the energy or courage to break into it.” (Hemingway “Soldier’s Home” 654). He does not feel he could participate in the world around him or fit in with his surroundings after coming home. Harold stops himself from becoming crazy by rebelling silently and by himself (Bloom 106). Since he feels he cannot break in to the world around him, he isolates himself from society to avoid insanity. While Krebs has difficulties returning home, the waiters in “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” teach each other life lessons. The older waiter is talking to the younger waiter and states, ‘I have never had confidence and I am not young’ (Hemingway “Clean, Well-Lighted Place” 382). This depicts the character trying to prove a point to the younger waiter; he shows how he has never been a confident person. The older waiter urges for specific things but cannot grasp onto these dreams or hopes (Kazin 20). He educates the younger man on how he had trouble doing things in the past. However, throughout “In Another Country” Hemingway characterizes the narrator as someone who has a difficult time fitting into society. Being in another country can be tough for the narrator due to the different languages, which in the end leads to great frustration. The narrator is trying to learn Italian to fit in. He states, “Italian was such a difficult language that I was afraid to talk to him”(Hemingway “In Another Country” 172). This shows how hard it is for the characters to fit in during these times in another country. Through characterization Hemingway creates an image of his character, the Major, who gives the impression of his despair and sadness (Zam 2). The characters action, “looking out the window”, describes his sadness toward his wife who died. This leaves the reader off in a sad state of mind. Also, the title of a story can be a great contribution to a story and hold an enormous amount of significance, through “Soldier’s Home” one can come to the realization that the protagonist feels as though he belongs back at war rather than being home. Krebs begins to reminisce about his past. Hemingway writes, “He thought about France and then he began to think about Germany” (“Soldier’s Home” 655). This statement shows that Krebs misses being away in war. Being away at war is almost more of a home for him than being home with his entire family. Trout states during the after-war, return to normalcy can be difficult due to the U.S. not providing a “home” for the soldiers (1). The title of the story shows significant feelings of how soldiers felt upon their return. Meanwhile, throughout the short story “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place,” one can come to understand how a café is a place to feel welcome. The waiters see the café as a very clean place, a place they can call “home.” The two waiters begin to describe the café: “…This is a clean and pleasant café. It is well lighted” (“A Clean Well-Lighted Place” 382). This shows that a café is a place where someone can go, somewhere where people can feel comfortable, or almost at home. Alfred Kazin states going to a “clean” and “well-lighted” café rather than a bodega or bar may make someone feel more comfortable or dignified (Kazin 21). The title signifies how this café is a place where people can come to in order to be relieved or open. Lastly, “In Another Country,” Hemingway portrays an officer that has to adapt to his new surroundings, even though he does not feel at home while being from another country, it can be of great difficulty to get along with others. He explains how it is to be treated if one is from another country and states “I was an American. After that their manner changed a little toward me although I was their friend against outsiders”(“In Another Country” 171). This shows how being from another country, it is very hard to get along with others. Michael states, Hemingway’s title, “In Another Country,” shows the narrator spending time with officers of different ethnicities, and has to somewhat fit his way in (Zam 3). Through the use of title the reader can comprehend how the characters feel isolated from society due to their losses. Furthermore, isolation from society is when characters feel as though they are alone and do not fit in upon returning from war Krebs finds himself isolated from the world, and nothing seems to be the same in his mind. Krebs is alone with no one to interact with that is similar to him. Hemingway states, “He sat there on the porch reading a book on the war” (“Soldier’s Home” 655). This statement shows him being isolated from everyone, or basically getting away from the world while reading his book. Along with others, he dealt with a great deal of alienation and neglecting civilization (4). The isolation Krebs dealt with unbearable yet he does not seem to mind it. Correspondingly, In the short story “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place,” the older waiter does not mind staying late at the café, which is very similar to the old man. The waiter seems as if he has no one waiting for him at home, unlike the younger waiter, who is itching to leave. The older waiter begins to describe why he stays at the café, “I am of those who like to stay late at the café…with all those who need a light for the night”( A Clean, Well-Lighted Place 382). The older waiter seems as if he has no one else for him away from the café, like the old man staying late as well. Steven states, in the end, the older waiter meditates alone, thinking about “nada” in an individual state (Hoffman 30). Being isolated from others helps keep the waiter calm at times of anger or anxiety. Likewise, In the short story “In Another Country,” the narrator has been through many experiences that have torn him apart mentally. While the officer is isolated he lies in bed thinking about death. He explains how lonely and scared he is when he goes home and “…and often lay in bed at night by myself afraid to die and wondering…”( In Another Country 171). This shows when he is isolated from society he is scared to die in war and continues to think about it. Zam states, the soldiers are described as emotionally “detached” due to the fact that they cannot speak of their tragic experiences and what they have seen during war. (3) Through isolation from society the reader can come to the realization the protagonists feel this due to their empty loss. Due to their past that they cannot speak of, war veterans can sometimes isolate themselves from the world in order to gain peace. Lastly, emptiness due to loss is a type of sadness the character has to face throughout his story, most likely in the past during the time period of “Soldiers Home,” civilians did not care about most of the returning veterans, due to made up stories as well as rumors. Krebs begins to describe his return upon home and the people around him, “…now lost their cool, valuable quality and then were lost themselves”(Soldier’s Home 654). This shows the loss Krebs must now face due to the lack of respect he gets from his hometown. Bloom states that Krebs seems to have nothing going for him besides his pride (Bloom 106). Through Krebs’s isolation from society one can see the emptiness he faces due to his loss. Moreover, In “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place,” the older waiter makes it clear that a bad past can lead up to a lonely future. The loneliness the waiter deals with is terrible, and very easy to tell something led up to his sadness. The older waiter begins to talk about his loneliness. Hemingway states, “It was all a nothing and a man was nothing too”(“A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” 383). This shows that the loneliness the old waiter deals with is terrible. It is very easy to tell he had a past that led up to this. As stated by Kazin, Hemingway often uses characters that see the world as being empty or having no meaning (20). Through emptiness due to loss one can see the loneliness the waiter is faced with. Being away from loved ones can take a big toll on someone’s life. In addition, In the short story “In Another Country,” the narrator and the Major talk about the death of his wife back home. The Major begins to stare out the hospital window as he thinks about his wife. Hemingway states, “The photographs did not make much difference to the Major because he only looked out of the window”(“In Another Country” 174). This shows the emptiness within the Major. By looking out the window, it is very clear that the Major is lost or greatly depressed. As critic Zam states, Hemingway uses a significant amount of detail in his writing, detail in that is used to describe up and coming winters that may soon be lost (2). These winters were something that the soldiers greatly enjoyed. Zam finishes by saying life that was once enjoyed could be gone creating the emptiness. One can understand the emptiness Major faces due to the loss of his wife. Finally, Throughout Hemingway’s works, he uses characterization and the significance of the title to describe characters who appear isolated from civilization and empty due to their losses. “Soldier’s Home” and “In Another Country” are similar because they portray two soldiers that experienced war battle, and also feel isolated due to their setting. “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” shows that a title can speak for itself; the story basically tells a tale that just states that a café is a place where someone can go to be himself or just forget everything. All three of these stories fall into each other’s categories in which they deal with being lonely or having to deal with losses.