Light and shadow

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1、Name: 左婵Student No.:B08011144Course: 英美小说选读Teacher: 汤雨露 Date:2010年12月25日Light and shadow Introduction It is late at the night,in a quiet,clean and well-lighted cafe,there is only a deaf old man sitting and drinking at a table under a tree.Two waiters who work in the cafe keep watching and commenting

2、 on him because the old man is their regular customer.The old waiter tells the younger one that the elderly wealthy gentleman attempted suicide last week.Because the younger waiter want to go home earlier so he is angered at the old mans continued requirements.When the old man demands another bottle

3、 of brandy,the younger one whispers and tells the deaf man ,You should have killed yourself last week as he pours him another glass.When the younger waiter returns inside,the two waiters continue their conversations.It seems that the old man is very lonely and has no family.Then the young waiter is

4、impatient,he forces the old man to pay the money and soon the man leaves.The old waiter tells the younger one that he shouldnt force the old man to leave because the old man want to stay up all night drinking in the clean,well-lighted place.After the young waiter leaves,the old waiter continues his

5、thought of life.He finds that life is meaningless.Both the old mans and the younger waiters and even his own life.On his way home,he goes into a bar, but there is not cleanand well-lighted.He leaves the bar and he believes that he cant sleep tonight. Character analysis The old man is a deaf man ,he

6、has no family and he drinks lonely at the night.Even though he has plenty of money,he is very lonely and he is very afraid of loneliness and darkness.He even attempted suicide last week in order to escape from the darkness of reality.Lately,he drinks and stays up all the night in a clean ,well-light

7、ed cafe. The younger waiter in the story is impatient with the old man.He wants to return home earlier because his wife is waiting for him.His wife is his light.But he doesnt understand how important a clean and well-lighted place is for someone needed.He is also living a meaningless life which he d

8、oesnt recognize. The old waiter in the story may be a wise man.He understands the deeper things in life,knowing that he must keep the cafe open in order to let others stay in a clean and well-lighted place,as he wishes also to remain in the light.But he is also very amusing,he thinks that life is no

9、thing.He doesnt know what he want and what can be hold in life.He cant bear the darkness of his world,so he walks aimlessly in the street and can;t sleep. There are some differences between the three characters.The younger waiter is eager to get home,he has a wife that he loves,a warm bed to go to,a

10、nd he has time on his side.But the old deaf man wants to stay in the clean and well-lighted cafe all the night.There is no one waiting for him at home but darkness and loneliness because he has no family.The two waiter also have difference.For example,We are of two different kind,the old waiter said

11、,It is not only a question of youth and confidence although those things are very beautiful.Each night I am reluctant to close up because there may be someone who needs the cafe.The old waiter can understand the old man but the young waiter cant.Like the young waiter replied,Hombre,there are bodegas

12、 open all night long.You do not understand.This is a clean and pleasant cafe.It is well-lighted.The light is very good and also,now,there are shadows of the leaves.The younger waiter has the ignorance of the importance of the cafe.And he cannot distinguish between the clean,well-lighted cafe and the

13、 dark badges that stay open all night with vagrants. The old man and the old waiter have something in common.They both have a fear of nothingness,going home to nothing.But when they stay in the clean and well-lighted place the fear would went away and find some comfort.In the end,both of them are fo

14、rced to leave the cafe.Symbolism In this story the main symbolism is thethe clean,well-lighted place.Firstly,the clean,well-lighted placedenotes the cafe.To the elderly man,it is a comfort and a spiritual ballast.He stays up in it because he is lonely and he is afraid of darkness in his heart.Then h

15、e finds the cafe.Also to the older waiter,he understands the clean and well-lighted places importance and he also need it.But to the younger waiter,his light is his family and his wife. The second one isthe shadow of leaves.Literally,it is a description of the environment.However,it also means the d

16、arkness and meaningless of life.At the beginning of this article,it saysIt was 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.It indicates that there is darkness in the old mans heart.He has no family and he is very

17、lonely.Theme The theme in this story is a typical theme in Hemingways work:there is no God,no meaning to this world,and man must consequently find something to distract himself from his horrible truth.For the old waiter,a clean and well-lighted cafe is such an comfort or escape.It is a way to escape

18、 from the darkness of reality that life is filled with nothing meaningful.Conclusion This short story talks about three people who all live in a meaningless life.The old deaf man is afraid darkness,loneliness and no hope in life,so he attempted to escape the reality by attempting suicide and later b

19、y drinking in a clean,well-lighted place where he doesnt want to but have to leave.The old waiter have his own thought,he understands the old man and knows the younger waiter also lives in a meaningless life.The plot of the story is very simple,there are mainly the conversation between the two waite

20、r with the exception of a little environmental description and the psychological description of the old waiter at the end.The author use the wordnothingto describe the psychology of the old waiter.And the wordnothingappears more than 20 times in the short story and the word involves all the states o

21、f the life.The loneliness of the old man is nothing,the impatience of the young waiter is nothing,almost everyone is nothing. After reading the short story,the authors understanding of human nature makes me think a lot.Suddenly,I findold age may be a horrible thing.I ask myself,when I am old,shall I

22、 am lonely?Shall I am afraid of the darkness?Shall I should find a clean and well-lighted place to find comfort?It must be horrible.I dont want to be that and I dont want to be nothingness.But how to avoid the situation.I think finding goals of my life is very important.As long as I have goals,then I will not be confused of life and I will have enthusiasm and motivation.The next is to create beautiful memories.In this way when I am old,I have these cherish memories,I will not be lonely and afraid of darkness. 4