Ernest Hemingway: A Literary Analysis of Two Short Stories

He is frail due to old age, but nonetheless still derives pleasure from the ambience and brandy provided in the cafe. While he stays up late in the night and drinks in excess, he is also disciplined in his own way. For example, when he is prompted to leave the cafe because it is closing time, without showing any displeasure he systematically counts the glasses he drank and pays for them with a tip included. Further, while he drinks more than is healthy for his age, he maintains his gait while walking, thereby not losing his dignity. These are expressions of discipline too, as Hemingway implies. And the old man certainly exhibits them. Further, his habit of going home very late in the night is actually a sign of vivacity and life rather than a sign of dejection. Although the old man is said to have attempted suicide a few days ago, his reprieve from death has helped heighten his sensual appetite, which is why he is back visiting his favorite cafe and the last one to leave it. This facet to the old man’s personality, namely his tendency to live life to the fullest, is again, another quality of the Code Hero.

As is typical of Hemingway plots, there is always another character that aspires to live life like the Code Hero. In the case of A Clean Well Lighted Place, it is the elder waiter who plays that role. Being middle aged and being able to see the viewpoints of both young and old, his sympathy and admiration for the old customer

is quite high. In a poignant ending to the story, he soliloquies as follows, capturing the essence of his philosophy of life (here ‘nada’ stands for ‘nothing’, ‘void’, ‘vapidity’ and a sense of disillusionment with the world)

“What did he fear? It was not a fear or dread, It was a nothing that he knew too well. It was all a nothing and a man was a nothing too. It was only that and light was all it needed and a certain cleanness and order. Some lived in it and never felt it but he knew it all was nada y pues nada y naday pues nada. Our nada who art in nada, nada be thy name thy kingdom nada thy will be nada in nada as it is in nada. Give us this nada our daily nada and nada us our nada as we nada our nadas and nada us not into nada but deliver us from nada; pues nada. Hail nothing full of nothing, nothing is with thee. He smiled and stood before a bar with a shining steam pressure coffee machine.” (Hemingway, A Clean Well-Lighted Place)

In the story Hills Like White Elephants, the male character displays the features of Code Hero. Firstly, he likes travel and adventure, which is evidenced from numerous hotel labels stuck to his bags. His worry of losing his cherished freedom is one of the motivations for persuading his companion to undergo abortion. Although the word abortion is not explicitly used in the story, there is no doubt that the couple are discussing only that. The reference to the distant hills

as White Elephants is a literary allusion to the unborn fetus the girl is carrying. In the story, the man comes across as stubborn about his views, although he pays lip service to convey the opposite view. He is also not very empathetic toward his girl’s feelings. He gives the impression that the decision to have or not have a child is simply a matter of convenience. That there could be sanctity attached to the life of the unborn baby, that his girl desires to have a child and experience motherhood, etc, are thoughts that he does not harbour.

Furthermore, the man’s concern is chiefly the degree of pain (or its absence) during the course of the abortion; and doesn’t seem to realize that it is his own potential child that is being terminated. This kind of attitude, which is believed to be a manifestation of masculinity, is also associated with the Code Hero. The insensitivity of the man in understanding the feelings of his girlfriend Jig is evident in the following heated dialogue that takes place in the bar attached to the railway station:

“‘You’ve got to realize,’ he said, ‘ that I don’t want you to do it if you don’t want to. I’m perfectly willing to go through with it if it means anything to you.’ / ‘Doesn’t it mean anything to you? We could get along.’ / ‘Of course it does. But I don’t want anybody but you. I don’t want anyone else. And I know it’s perfectly simple.’…/ ‘Would you do something for me now?’ / ‘I’d do anything for you.’ / ‘Would you please

please please please please please please stop talking?’ / He did not say anything but looked at the bags against the wall of the station. There were labels on them from all the hotels where they had spent nights. / ‘But I don’t want you to,’ he said, ‘I don’t care anything about it.’ / ‘I’ll scream,’ the girl said.” (Hemingway, Hills Like White Elephants)

In conclusion, both characters discussed above show clear signs of the Hero Code that Hemingway inevitably crafts into all his stories. But it appears that the old man in A Clean Well Lighted Place is the more exemplary of the two, because he harms no one else and also maintains his dignity. By virtue of being unsympathetic (if not actually misogynistic) toward his girl Jig, the main character in Hills Like White Elephants is a watered down version of how Hemingway usually portrays his Code heroes.

Works Cited:

Ernest Hemingway, Hills Like White Elephants, retrieved from , retrieved on 8th December, 2010

Ernest Hemingway, A Clean, Well-Lighted Place, retrieved from on 8th December, 2010

The Hemingway Code Hero, retrieved from on 8th December, 2010