Analysis of the Two Short Fictions - Essay Example

A Comparison of Two Short Fictions Ernest Hemingway and Elizabeth Tallent share both similarities and contradictions artin their works. The two authors employ the use of metaphors and characters to emphasize on different themes. Hemingway uses a café as a symbol of a satisfactory life while Tallent uses the dirt in the truck to symbolize reckless life. This paper focuses on similarities and differences of the themes in the two stories, the roles the narrators play in the stories, the characters in the stories and how humor has been used in the stories. Comparison of similar themes discussed in the two stories. In Ernest’s story, “A clean well-lighted room,” the theme of dissatisfaction in everyday life is highlighted. Similarly, the same theme is portrayed in Elizabeth’s fiction; “No One’s a Mystery” in the form of boredom. Persistence of boredom in the characters’ lives results to desperation. The old man and the older waiter tend to find nothing satisfactory in life while according to Elizabeth; Jack seems to no longer value his marriage life as it has become extremely predictable and monotonous. Life seems to have lost its meaning from all spheres; religion is described as nothing giving people no place to take refuge. The characters try to find places or things where they can forget about the boredom, but these sanctuaries seem only to last for a short while. In A well-lighted room, time limits the duration in which the old man and the waiter can stay in the well-lighted clean café because the restaurant will eventually be closed (8). Time is also highlighted by Tallent. Jack gives his young lover a five-year diary (10; par. 1). This desribes the limited time their romance might last. Jack is bored with his wife and tries to find some happiness in the relationship with an 18-year-old woman. He seems convinced that the relationship won’t last even to the second year yet ironically he gives his girlfriend a five-year diary. In both stories, the characters seem to have found something that they get comfort from, but only for a short time. Ernest description of the theme of despair is apparent to the reader because his two characters tend to be experiencing the same emptiness (Becnel and Bloom 148). Alternatively, alcoholism features in both stories. The old man in a clean well- lighted room is a good customer at the café, and he is always the last customer to leave the café. Similarly, Jack is an alcoholic as implied from the tequila they have been drinking with the girlfriend (Tallent 10). Loneliness and unhappiness tend to be the main course of the alcoholic tendencies of both characters. Ernest has highlighted this theme much better as he uses a dignified character to bring the idea. The old man maintains his dignity even after he gets drunk while the older waiter is an alcoholic, but has also been represented as wise. Ernest emphasizes that the course of alcoholism is not always as a result of irresponsibility and peer influence as the characters are mature individuals and can, therefore, make sound decisions. According to Ernest, the loneliness that results in unhappiness is a major contributor to alcoholism. Both the old man and the older waiter are lonely, this has been indicated by the satisfaction that they seem to attain in the café. The old man has a miserable life as shown by his suicide attempt. The more elderly waiters miseries are highlighted by his lack of belief in anything as seen by his continuous use of the term nothing and insomnia. Both authors have used age differences between the characters to bring out how age shapes an individual’s way of thinking. Both Hemmingway and Tallent have used characters with wide age difference and have clearly illustrated their thoughts on similar issues. For instance, in Ernest’s story the older men seem more experienced than the younger. Elizabeth uses Jack and the 18-year-old girlfriend to illustrate this theme. Jack understands the relationship better than the girlfriend as he does not have false hopes about their relationship. The girlfriend on the other hand imagines of a future with Jack. She seems not to understand the impact of their relationship to Jack’s life as he is a married man. Elizabeth’s comparison of Jack and the girlfriends’ thoughts on what would be written in the diary within a given duration has brought out the theme of age and experience much openly. There is a direct comparison of the two characters thoughts. Elizabeth emphasizes that age is not always associated with wisdom, but it can be a contributing factor (Tallent 11; Hemmingway 1-2). The role of the narrators as used in the two stories Ernest uses a third persona as the narrator of his story. The narrator is an observer who witnesses what happens in the café and has background understanding of the personal life of all the three characters in the story. The use of an observer as the narrator of the story enables the reader to create a scene in the mind, making the understanding of the characters and the events much easier. A line can be drawn among the characters as two of them tend to have some similarities compared to the third one who is different from them. The observation brings in the past event of the suicide attempt by the old man to help the reader have a background understanding of the old man’s life. The younger waiter seems to have something in his life that satisfies him, and therefore he does not understand the emptiness felt by the old man and his colleague. The older waiter and an old man in the two fictions seem to lack reasons to get satisfied with their lives. This is illustrated by suicide attempt by the old man, and the reluctance of the older attender to leave his workplace (Hemmingway 2). However, the younger worker seem to be satisfied. The use of two characters that seem to be bound by the emptiness in their lives has helped bring out the theme of despair. The third character seems to be satisfied, but his colleague thinks that the satisfactory is only short lived, because once he gains enough experience he will realize the emptiness of life. Tallent uses a narrator who plays a role in the story to bring out her themes. This makes the story more real as the reader tends to feel like a part of the story. Jack’s character is brought to light by the way he reacts when he sees his wife driving past them. From the way Jack reacts and the comments he makes about his wife’s driving habits indicates his lack of respect for women as he despises them. The reader is also able to understand Jack’s self-centered nature as he does not love his wife but seems reluctant to divorce her while at the same time he is using a young lady just for a short term romantic relationship. Jack’s wife indicates the normality of life routines as seen from she can easily be predicted. Jack’s mockery indicates fear of changing the normal routine of life even though he is bored with it. The young lover is the short term refuge from life’s boredom. All these characters create an understanding of the story to the reader (Tallent; Hemmingway). Character Reality Ernest’s use of an observer as the narrator and the choice of scene, a clean well-lighted café seem real. The characters behavior is not odd therefore it can fit any normal individual allowing the reader to relate the events in the story with real life events. The theme in the story on lack of belief in religion is a current issue in the world right now due to the spread of atheism. The story enables readers to understand the role played by religion in human lives. All the characters seem to be having something unique which allows the reader to understand their personalities. Hemmingway has described the old man as dignified and he emphasizes this by insisting that the old man even though drunk did not spill his drink, he walked with dignity and still gave a tip to the younger waiter despite his nasty behavior towards him (4) In No One’s a Mystery, by Tallent, even though the narrator is a participant in the story, the description of Jack’s wife driving habits is extreme and does not seem to exist in the real world (10). The characters in the story have just been used to bring out the themes that apply in the life, but they are not real characters that can be related to an individual. Jack’s wife seems way too predictable for a normal human being in the real word. The young girl who is the narrator is way too submissive to his lover, and she does not seem to question his action at all. Jack has been depicted as a chauvinist yet it is ironical that he still fears his wife and therefore he chooses to hide the lover when he sees her driving towards them. The functions of humor In a well-lighted room, humor has been used to describe the old man as he is a good customer and dignified but according to the waiters yet he has to be watched as he can walk away without paying. The point of the good customer walking away without paying is sarcastic as well as ironical. This enables the writer to bring out the theme of alcoholism, as it enables the reader to understand that being a good customer he frequents the café. The theme of desperation has been brought out in a humorous way as the older waiter mocks his colleague about him having everything. Tallent uses humor to describe the hopeless future of Jack and his lover’s relationship. A diary with a small lock and a key are described as birthday present. Sarcastically, and arguably ironical, Jack could predict what would be written in the diary. The humor has been used to bring out the themes of boredom, insecurity, and age (Tallent; Hemmingway). Critical Analysis The message in the two stories can also be related to an art, Study of an Old Man with a Beard, in Santa Barbara Museum of Art. The piece illustrates a despairing man with beards. The painting portrays a face of an old man wrapped in massive robes and looking dismayed. Dissatisfaction in life can be attributed to the old man. (Santa Barbara Museum of Art). Critics have had different views on the authors, Ernest choice of not indicating the specific dialogue to a character is argued to bring about confusion. However, proponents of the style have clarified that this was just a style that gave the reader the challenge to find the character responsible for a specific statement. The choice of words by Elizabeth and the use of contrast enable the reader to understand the improvement of use of words by the author (May and Magil, 2278) Work cited. Becnel, Kim and Harold Bloom. Blooms how to write about Ernest Hemingway. n.d. Hemingway, Earnest. A Clean, Well-Lighted Place. n.d. Print. May, E Charles and Frank Nothern Magil. critical survey of short fiction. Vol. 6. 2001. Santa Barbara Museum of Art. Exhibitions. 17 May 2015. Web. . Tallent, Elizabeth. No Ones a Mystery. n.d. Print. Read More