Diction refers to the choice of words that can deliver certain styles or moods. Click on the above WordCloud and observe the most frequently used the words in the story “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place”. Examine how Hemingway used word choice and repetition of words to craft the theme of the story. In a large context, does the Diction in the story reflect Hemingway’s style of writing in general, or not?
English 12 
March 14th, 2011 at 1:26 pm
Ernest Hemingway wrote the story, “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” in a very peculiar manner. It is safe to say that the diction used in the story greatly reflected his style of writing for the story, but then again any person can say that of any writer because diction is just word choice. What Hemingway did differently was use elegant repetition to his advantage throughout the story. In this particular story, the most commonly used word was “nada”. The curiosity is the Hemingway used this word not throughout the whole story, but in one part in one paragraph. He implemented it in a passage recited in church, which begins, “Give us this day our daily bread”. Hemingway replaces many of the words using “nada.” “Give us our nada” is an example used and that pattern continues throughout the prayer. This reveals a major theme in the story linking characters and ideas. The old man and the old waiter have much in common; they are both older men, they both suffer from insomnia, they both prefer café’s to bars, they are both lonely, and the text suggests they are both atheist. This all comes together throughout the story as the old waiter sticks up for the old man as the old waiter argues with the young waiter. In that argument the old waiter reveals that, he too enjoys the café because it is a well-lit place as opposed to bars, which are dark. He infers the old man feels the same way for the same reason. While on the subject of old and night, these two words, are commonly used throughout the story besides nada. Another word used is bed, which for insomnia means that they do not go to bed. They look for a place to stay up, once again connecting the old man and old waiter while simultaneously disconnecting the younger waiter. The old waiter goes to bed because the bar is not well-lit and the café is closed. Hemingway carefully designs this all through word choice and the concept of repetition. This style indeed reflects Hemingway’s style as a whole because it is a formula that can be used repeatedly. It is magnificent and encourages, almost forces the reader to engage thoroughly in the story.
March 14th, 2011 at 1:27 pm
These most frequently used words aided to form the theme of the work, “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place”. The most frequently used word in the work is “nada”, this goes perfectly with the overall point of the story. Nada means none or infinite nothingness. The main character, the old waiter and the supporting character the old man at the café both are coming to the end of their lives. Many people see the end of life as nothingness and this can cause depressing emotions. The old waiter and the old customer give off impressions that they are disheartened. The old waiter talks about the young waiter’s youth and how he is rushing through life. The second most used word in the story is “old”. This connects with the contrast involved. The difference of old and young between the characters is a point made several times throughout the work. The theme of loneliness ties back to the repeated word choice with almost all of the top used words. For example the frequently used words, “nada”, “old”, “want”, “night”, “light”, “home” and “wife” all can be related to the theme of loneliness. The contrast of night and light can be paralleled with the contract of lonely and not lonely. Darkness is a symbol for being alone and many times light is a symbol for heaven, which is quite the opposite of loneliness. Home is a word that also depicts the feeling of warmth; many times it also can include the meaning of family. When one is lonely they usually do not have this sense of warmth and family. Lastly, wife is something that would mean solving the problem of loneliness. The concept of being husband and wife is to love one another and to destroy loneliness with the relationship between each other. The diction of this story definitely reflects Hemingway’s style of writing in general. He is known for establishing meaning through dialogue, action and silence. Most of “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” involves dialogue. He does not use many descriptive words, so the dialogue and actions are what display the characters and inner meanings to the reader. Hemingway also seems to avoid description of emotions and tends to write about a loss of faith. Both of these general views describing Hemingway’s writing project through this text. The older characters are losing the energy on life and giving up on it, these emotions are not plainly stated, and the reader must look and find them.
March 14th, 2011 at 1:28 pm
In Ernest Hemingway’s “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place”, the author uses several words on more than just multiple occasions. Hemingway uses words like nada, old, light, dark, nothing, drunk, lonely and home so often that it is clear the more they are used, the more meaning they have. Hemingway uses these specific words to help create a more meaningful and in depth story because each of the words used frequently represents a different facet of the story. By contributing words that have ambiguous meanings, Hemingway allows each reader to extract their own thoughts about the characters and absolute meaning of the plot. The words referenced above were singled out because these were words used dozens of times throughout the story, if not more. This signifies not only the importance of these words, but also creates a distinct form of writing. In my opinion, Hemingway’s unique repetitive style of writing is used again to help point out specific words or sentences that would help lead the reader discover more important aspects of the story. For example, Hemingway continuously uses the words confidence and nada within the text. By using these words on multiple occasions, I as a reader begin to think what these words represent. From there, I decide that confidence is the one thing that maybe the old man lacks as well as the older waiter and if either of them had some, they wouldn’t feel so lonely. As for nada “nothing”, nada is something that both are afraid to obtain which is their reason for staying at the bar when they would be alone elsewhere.
The diction used in this story does reflect Hemingway’s style of writing. It is fairly hard to believe that these words were used this many times without the intent of having them stand out. For this reason, Hemingway does a brilliant job of adding detail and thought provoking inquiries into a story with little plot.
March 14th, 2011 at 1:28 pm
In this story, Hemingway has a very unique style of writing. Instead of using many different words, he repeats the same words over and over again. Writing in this way gives the story a certain style and a main theme is able to be found. The word he uses most in this story is nada. This story’s main theme is about loneliness and nothingness. With the occurrence of this word, this theme is able to found. The next words that appear most often are night, old and café. Night and old are words that go along with the theme of loneliness. Most often, nighttime is when one is alone in bed and about to go to sleep. Most people are alone and without someone besides them. This image of being by oneself helps convey the theme of loneliness. Also, when one is old, often friends and family have passed away and one finds himself to be isolated. These words go hand in hand with the story’s main theme. In this story the café is a refugee for people who feel lonely and are in a dark state. The story takes place in this environment so it is apparent that the emotion of loneliness will appear throughout the story. As the words in the word cloud get smaller, one will notice more words that derive the feeling of seclusion and solitude.
The diction of the story does reflect Hemingway’s style of writing. Hemingway’s writing style is that of repetition and reuse of phrases. Throughout the whole story, he continues to use words that help create a tone, which ultimately leads to the theme of the story. In paragraph 76, his style is apparent. “Some lived in it and never felt but he knew it all was nada y pues nada y nada y pues nada” (146). The rest of the paragraph continues in this way and the word nada and nothing appear most often. Also, his style is very short and he does not use long lines. If one were to look through this story, one will notice that there are short and small sentences. There are barely long comprehensive sentences. Because of this, there is little detail about the characters and that is exactly the way Hemingway makes his works. Through his diction, his writing style is conveyed.
March 14th, 2011 at 1:29 pm
Hemingway is renowned for using ‘unadorned’ style and concise dialogue, which “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” exemplifies. The way in which Hemmingway wrote “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” leads the short story to sound like a conversation. Through this conversation the reader is able to learn about, and interpret the characters. For example, the conversation between the old waiter and the young waiter, unveils the old waiter’s sympathy for the drunk old man, while also illustrating that the young waiter is in a hurry to get home. Hemingway writes, “It was a nothing that he knew too well. It was all a nothing and a man was 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 was already nada y pues nada y 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.”(paragraph 14) The older waiter’s loneliness and unhappiness is rooted in his assumption that the world consists of nothingness. Hemingway utilizes repetition of words such as “nothing” and “nada” to convey the theme of loneliness. The word ‘light’ also appears frequently, signifying that light can void dark. The old waiter values a clean, well lighted place, because the light soothes the pain that accompanies darkness. The old man would rather drink in the light café than drink alone at home. Likewise, the old waiter would rather spend time in a well-lighted café rather than a botega. Interestingly, the old waiter is plagued by insomnia, and can only fall asleep with the arrival of daylight. The darkness traps the old man into his loneliness, and he is only relieved when there is light.
March 14th, 2011 at 1:30 pm
Hemingway chose to implement the style of repetition in this story, “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place”, and in general, to help reinforce the theme and establish how the characters are feeling. Like some of my classmates mentioned during class, this story is not very descriptive and heavily relies on the reader’s interpretations. By eliminating the use of adjectives describing how the characters are saying a certain phrase, the reader is left only with what the characters are actually saying. Hemingway depended on his repetition and word choice to ensure that the reader was going down the right path in his/her way of thinking about the story and the characters’ moods.
One can establish an idea of theme based on the most frequently used words used throughout the story. By clearly seeing the words nada and old in the word cloud, one can somewhat easily conclude the themes of old age and dissatisfaction. The word nada most evidently strikes the sense of dissatisfaction and need for something else. This dissatisfaction in the story is directed at want for family and a sense of home and being able to sleep at night. Additionally, the word old in the word cloud is straightforward about it being a main aspect of the story. Oldness in the story is considered sad and “a nasty thing” (pg 144) which is ironic because growing old is inevitable.
Nada, meaning nothing, obviously maintains a negative connotation. Similarly, the term old, is often seen as a derogatory state of being. The fact that these two negative words are the most frequently used words in the story suggests that the mood is also negative and pessimistic. Even in conversation about the people on the street and the old man in the café, the two waiters always seem to have a pessimistic outlook or something negative to say. It’s evident that Hemingway’s unique style of diction adds deep meaning to a story that would otherwise seem short and sweet.
March 14th, 2011 at 1:32 pm
In “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place”, Ernest Hemingway made it a point to make the word “nada” very common and repetitive. In the WordCloud, nada is displayed as the most common word used throughout the story, however it is concentrated in one area, which leads me to believe that Hemingway wanted the reader to infer something more from his style choice. I think Hemingway wanted to emphasize that the old waiter understood that the old man tried to kill himself. The Old Man had lost his wife and did not seem to have anything else going on in his life. The old waiter felt the same way when he tells the young waiter, “No. I never had confidence and I am not young”. The old waiter recognizes that the only thing both he and the Old Man have are the cafe. It is a haven for them, which is why the old waiter doesn’t mind staying late.
Another word that is repeated many times throughout the story is “bed”. I think Hemingway was using the bed as a metaphor for death. The Old Man and the old waiter stay at the cafe as long as they can trying to escape the inevitability of death. The old waiter waits until the daylight comes to go to bed because he is afraid that the dark will stay forever. A contrast to “bed”, “cafe” is another word used heavily. The cafe is a refuge for people who do not want to go home. It is a place where someone can go to block out the harmfulness of society for a while and focus on the present.
The word “want” is also repeated many times in the story indicating that wanting is a constant habit of humans and some will never be satisfied. I think the theme of the entire story that Hemingway wanted to give to the reader is kind of an existential view. He is emphasizing that nothingness is a big part of our lives and sometimes can control us leading us to live lives that are characterized by running from the inevitable by using prolonged escape techniques.
The style presented in this story does reflect Hemingway’s style of writing. Hemingway began as a short story writer, which led him to “get the most from the least…and how to tell the truth in a way that allowed for telling more than the truth”. (
March 14th, 2011 at 1:34 pm
Ernest Hemingway was the kind of writer that took the time to craft particular words and themes in his stories, and these tools do reflect Hemingway as a writer. I am familiar with Hemingway from reading some of his stories in high school. His writing could be described as frugal; he only provides essential information, using few adjectives, and dialogue tags are nonexistent in his stories. When discussing or learning about Hemingway the “7/8 of an iceberg” principle can be applied. With an iceberg, one can only see the part that sticks out of the water (the 1/8), however there are still 7/8 under the water; this can describe Hemingway’s story, the reader only has what is above the surface to work with yet there is more to be interpreted. In “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” the theme of the story can be found through the use of key words. Throughout the story words such as “nada,” “old,” and “night” are used to project a mood of loneliness. As the waiters are talking about the old man, the reader can see the contrast between young and old as well as lonely and not lonely. As they speak about the old man, it becomes depressing to see how this old man spends his nights alone, drinking himself into a drunken stupor. As the story goes on it becomes apparent that the old man is not the only one who feels loneliness and despair, the older waiter does as well. These feelings are most clearly projected by the older waiter when he and the younger waiter discuss the concept of nothingness. The waiter believes that there is no meaning found in life and that we are swimming in a sea of nothingness. His feelings are shown when he says, “It was all a nothing and man was a nothing too (Hemingway 146).” It is also clear that he does not faith or any sort of religious affiliation, since replaces the words God and heaven in the “Our Father” with the word nada. True to his style Hemingway, during this section of the story, uses vague sentences that the reader does not know what they apply too. This does make the work confusing, but that is the point; the concept of nothingness is confusing and can be vague because everyone can have a different impression of what nothingness is. Hemingway takes the time to make his writing like this, he does not want to spoon feed his readers the main ideas he rather they work on it themselves.
March 14th, 2011 at 1:34 pm
Ernest Hemmingway is known for his style of dialogue as well as understatement. Due to this understating, he often “[implies] greater depths of feeling than he puts into words” (142). The words he uses and how often he uses them, therefore, signifies their importance. Thus, this “elegant repetition” and diction is prominent in Hemmingway’s style, specifically in his work, “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place.”
The word cloud for the short story exemplifies how Hemmingway’s technique with words crafts its theme. The largest, and thus most frequent, words Hemmingway uses are ‘nada,’ then ‘old,’ followed by ‘want’ and ‘night.’ These words demonstrate the common strings which tie the old man and the older waiter together. The old man and the older waiter both have experienced much in their lives. They have lived through many nights literally, with the passing of many nights, and figuratively, as having endured many troubled times. They are both in a state of nothingness, nada. The old man was in despair about “nothing,” and wanted to kill himself (143). The older waiter identifies with the old man, because “[i]t was a nothing he knew all too well” (146). Ultimately, it seems the religion of nada is the common thread between the two of them. They feel that this ‘nada’ emptiness and ‘night’ darkness have been the culmination of their lives. For them, there is no meaning of life. The meaning of life lacks, leaving them with a nothingness which includes loneliness and darkness. Because they are empty in both of these ways, the old man and older waiter are in ‘want’ of light. They also are in want of refuge places, as shown by the words ‘home,’ ‘bed,’ and ‘café’ which demonstrate a secondary prominence. Whether or not they have a ‘wife,’ a ‘glass’ of alcohol, or get ‘drunk,’ these are simply venues for forgetting the nothingness, or more rather, trying to fill up the emptiness produced by the religion of ‘nada.’
So finally, because the men have nada and feel they have nothing to amount to in their lives, they want both light and a refuge, which can also be known as “a clean, well-lighted café” (146).
March 14th, 2011 at 1:34 pm
Hemingway’s diction in “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” is unlike most stories because he repeats many of the same words on purpose. By doing this, Hemingway emphasizes certain words and their meanings. The word that was used most often was old. The idea of old is a theme in the story and relates to many different aspects of the story.
The word old pertains to the old man and the older waiter who are compared to the younger waiter. The contrast between old and young is the main theme in the story. The younger waiter is constantly confused by the old man and older waiter’s ways. He doesn’t understand why they stay in the cafe longer and why they are so lonely. The older waiter tries to explain things to the younger waiter, but it seems like he is still confused. The contrast between the ways of the older and younger men are that the younger man is confident and not lonely while the older men are the opposite. The old men are separated from the rest of the world because their ways are not seen as normal to the young man. I believe that the deafness in the old man is a symbol for his disconnection with the world.
The emphasis on old is to have the reader analyze the relationship between old and young. Hemingway repeats words that do not have meanings that are hard to understand. By repeating them, he makes their purpose in the story more apparent and clear. When words are repeated a lot it makes the reader think more about them and Hemingway used this as a device to make the themes more clear in the story.
March 14th, 2011 at 1:35 pm
The old waiter and the young waiter both judge an old man drinking at the café by himself. The young waiter doesn’t understand why the old man doesn’t buy himself a bottle and drink in the comfort of his own home. The old waiter has sympathy for the old man and understands that it is hard being alone. The young waiter has youth and a wife to go home to. He doesn’t understand that the old man has nothing but the company of a light place and a glass of brandy. The old waiter can sympathize with the old man because he has the same feelings of loneliness and insomnia.
The words old and nada, or nothing in English, are the most used words in the story. It shows that nothing comes with old age. We start with everything in our lives. That is why the young waiter with a wife cannot relate. He hasn’t lost anything due to old age. Night and light are also used frequently in the story. This could have something to do with the old man wanting to find light in the darkness of night. The waiter also sees how a bright, clean café can make him feel better about being alone.
The dictation of this story reflects Hemingway’s general style. He usually uses a simple, direct style. He doesn’t write non-sense in this story, and he tries to get right to the point.
March 14th, 2011 at 2:01 pm
Ernest Hemingway did a great job of using the repetition of certain words to craft different themes in the short story “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place.” After reading over the story, I have come to realize that one primary theme is how people struggle to cope with despair. In the beginning, we are introduced to the anguished deaf old man who has lived through many difficult experiences. We learn that he has lost his wife, tried to commit suicide and has a decent amount of money. With that said, the old man has tried to cope with his despair in several unsuccessful ways. However, the only way he can deal with his misery now is to sit for hours in a clean, well-lit cafe and drink his problems away. As well as the drunk old man, the old waiter also finds solace in staying up late in the cafe. Unlike others, the old waiter has a hard time confiding in religion which is justified by his use of the word “nada” during the mocking of a prayer. The cafe constitutes as a place of peace for both individuals because they are comfortable with routine which they can control unlike the outside world. Words such as cafe, nada and night are all used to further convey how both old men cope with their anguish. Overall, the diction in the story reflect Hemingway’s style of writing in general. He is known for short and concise sentences with deeper meaning which are prevalent in this short story.
March 14th, 2011 at 8:15 pm
In “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place,” Hemingway used word choice and repetition of words to craft the theme of the story. One of the words he used the most times was nada. This is due to the fact that in the story, Hemingway is trying to suggest that man is a tiny and insignificant thing in the large world of nothingness. He used nada in his writing to express the important meaning of nothingness; he did not use the Spanish word nada throughout the complete story, but rather in one paragraph at the end of the story. In the prayer recited in the story, one line directly states, “Hail nothing full of nothing, nothing is with thee” (Hemingway 146). This displays what Hemingway is trying to get across at. Religion, as everything else, is just a bunch of nothingness. However, Hemingway shows that not everyone is aware of nothingness. The old man and the old waiter in the story are both aware of nothingness, while the young waiter is not. The young waiter is happy and tends to love life and how he is living. This is the biggest word used in the story that expresses how Hemingway used repetition to craft the theme of the story, however other words were repeated very often as well to show the great importance of their meaning. The words that were used more often than the others craft the theme of the story because they outline and highlight what Hemingway wants his readers to understand.
The diction, or choice and use of words, in the story does reflect Hemingway’s style of writing in general; however, I believe this is true for many more authors than just Hemingway. Writers tend to use diction to let the reader know the importance of the story they are writing; repetition catches the attention of the reader and makes them want to keep reading to find out why a particular thing may be repeated so often.
March 14th, 2011 at 9:48 pm
The way Hemingway writes is directly correlated with way he intends for the story to pan out. He uses word to develop the character’s and their surroundings. The word, “Nada” is the biggest word in the entire story. This word means nothing. The meaning of nothing is shown with the older people. They have nothing left in life. They have lived life long enough and have realized that the only thing that is left for them to expect is Nada. The fact that Hemingway uses this word so often allows the theme of the whole story to become more apparent. The second used word is Old. This directly relates to the theme connected with the old men in the story. The other word that is used in the story is Want. To me, other than Nada, this is the most important word. There is always a strong inclination for desire to simply want. These men want to simply live, but it is difficult with their current desire of Nada.
March 16th, 2011 at 7:59 pm
Hemingway’s “A Clear, Well-Lighted Place” is written with precise attention to a group of specific words. It is not for nothing the Hemingway chose to use the same words over and over again, it was his way a showcasing a point that he was trying to make. The use of the word “nada” is significant in that it means “nothing” in spanish. The word “nothing” can associated with other words such as emptiness, loneliness, abandoned, or desolate. All the words describe the old man at the bar, over the years he has grown very lonely, he no longer has a wife and he feels safest at the bar with all of his friends surrounding him. The older bartender also feels the same way, he does not want to spend his sleepless nights alone, but would rather be with al the other lonely people in the town. Hemingway choice of writing style portrays just how much these men were lonely and had nothing left in their lives.
March 17th, 2011 at 10:44 am
Through “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” Hemingway uses word repetition to hint at the theme of the story. Hemingway repeats several key words repeatedly, showing the reader that they hold a larger meaning. For example, Hemingway excessively uses the word nada, to represent the main character’s worldview. Hemingway, through using nada repeatedly, emphasizes to the reader that the character has a meaningless life. This word repetition points to Hemingway’s theme of the destruction of values. Prior to the time period that this short story was written it was customary to care for your elders. “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” shows an elderly man’s quest for self-meaning, by expressing his emotions at a cafe and wandering town. Instead of realizing the old man’s misery, the waiters at the cafe are more concerned with getting home. They rush the old man and degrade him to being worthless, adding to the word repetition of nada.
The diction that Hemingway chose for “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” emphasizes his signature style of writing. Hemingway tends to craft his stories with short, active sentences, and fragmented character dialogue. This style helps direct the reader to Hemingway’s theme and gives an objective point of view.