Ernest Hemingway

Life a reporter for the Kansas City Star at 18 seriously wounded in WWI at 19 An expatriate in Paris in the 1920s, a good friend with Gertrude Stein - ‘ the lost generation ’ Received the Nobel Prize in 1954 Committed suicide in 1961

Major novels The Sun Also Rises (1926) A Farewell to Arms (1929) For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940) The Old Man and the Sea (1952)

The code hero Grace under pressure: courage, capacity and dignity in face of nothingness, pain or despair A man can be destroyed but not defeated. (from The Old Man and the Sea)

Writing style Economy of words – simple but suggestive Reliance on dialogues – showing rather than telling, highly suggestive of personality Repetition – foregrounding the theme Antithesis – binary oppositions used to contrast different values and forces

A Clean Well-Lighted Place

Discussion questions Irony of the title Can youth and confidence help one withstand the metaphorical dark? In what way are the older waiter different from the younger waiter? Theme of the story

Irony of the title The old man is seeking a clean well- lighted place in the café to fight against the dark of nothingness he feels about life. The café turns out not clean and bright enough for the old man - the younger waiter’s rudeness - his loneliness

Can youth and confidence withstand the metaphorical dark? It depends on where your confidence comes from.

The older waiter vs. the younger waiter Attitude to the old man Lifestyle Understanding about life

Theme of the story

prayer of 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.

Lord’s Prayer / Hail Mary Our father who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil; amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. 我们的天父, 愿你的名 受显杨, 愿你的国来临, 愿你的旨意奉行在人间, 如同在 天上。求你今天赏给我们日用的食粮。求你宽恕我们 的罪过, 如同我们宽恕别人一样。不要让我们陷于诱惑, 但救我们免于凶恶。阿们 ! 万福玛利亚, 你充满圣宠, 主 与你同在。（天主经 + 圣母经）

Antithesis Dark vs. light Shadow vs. electric light Old vs. young Unpolished vs. clean Insomnia vs. sleep Lack of confidence vs. confidence quiet vs. noisy Nothingness vs. everything

Theme Nothingness / nada / nihilism Alienation / loneliness

Assignments for Death of a Salesman Identify all the descriptions of music and explain how the different styles of music correspond with the different situations. What is the function of the intermingling of present and past, and of illusion and reality in the play? In what sense is Willy Loman’s life a tragedy? Why doesn’t the play tell us what Willy sells and whether the insurance money will be paid to his family?