To be alone is an extremely scary concept for many individuals. However, many others enjoy it and relish the quiet peace that surrounds them. I personally love to be alone and I cherish the calming effects of silence. Ernest Hemingway’s “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” is an intriguing story that demonstrates the differences in opinions about loneliness and nothingness. Harold Bloom’s excellent criticism explains that Hemingway’s short story “emphasizes man’s ability to endure rather than his ability to act. What is most devastating in this tale is emptiness, a loss of faith, a lack of spiritual underpinnings and external connections. As readers, we are filled with pity and with respect.” In the short story, the young waiter loathes the deaf old man that stays late at his Spanish-style café. An older waiter empathizes with the older gentleman and understands why he wants a “clean, well-lighted place” to stay and feel comfortable at. As I have mentioned before I absolutely love my alone time and I very much look forward to it. I believe I am this way because I have always worked closely with the public, and at times they can become very exhausting. This forces me to run inside my house, kick off my shoes, and listen to the best music ever: silence! My very best friend Megan, however, hates being alone and she feels like a “loser” when she does not have any plans to fill her day with. My personal belief is that whether you like being alone or not depends on how much you enjoy spending time with the most important person: yourself.
Youth, compared to an older generation, seem to have a disillusioned concept of loneliness. We see this very clearly in Hemingway’s story when the two waiters are having a discussion on the attempted suicide of the elderly deaf man (we assume the older waiter is asking the questions):
“Why?”
“He was in despair.”
“What about?”
“Nothing.”
“How do you know it was nothing?”
“He has plenty of money.”
The younger waiter cannot understand why someone would be in despair with so much money. The older waiter, however, clearly understands that money is nothing without someone to share it with. Bloom explains, “To the young waiter, nothing, nada, is unimportant, it is a lack of reason for death. Because the old man has money, he should be content. Yet to the old waiter nothing is clearly something, and the despair of this something is a readily understandable cause for suicide.”
I clearly understand that many people believe being alone is a terrible world of darkness; and that these people most certainly search for a clean, well-lighted place to thrive. I however, enjoy being alone and cherish the time where silence is the loudest sound in the room. I ask myself this question for clarity: If I was alone, with no one close to me and afraid that tomorrow would never come, would I have the same desire to be by myself? I cannot clearly answer that question yet, but stories like “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” help me to understand the other side of loneliness, where silence is not a choice, it is an unhappy way of life. My silence is a choice, and I hope I always have the power to keep it my own.
