Abstract:In the early 1920s, Hemingway began to achieve fame by describing a generation of youth whom Stein memorably dubbed the “Lost Generation”. His novels The Sun Also Rises(1926), and A Farewell to Arms(1929) established him as a dominant literary figure of his time. Then, he published For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940). These works are well known in the world with the images of tough man and Hemingway’s simple and concise writing style also has great influence in the field of the American literature.  

“A Clean Well-Lighted Place” was written in 1933 which is one of Hemingway’s representative stories. After its publication, it soon aroused widespread concern and response in countries around the world, and made a lot of experts and scholars start to research it. This story mainly focused on the spiritual breakup. 

On the basis of previous research and Iceberg Theory, this thesis aims to probe into the social mental situation through the simple words used in the story in depicting the three characters. In the first part, the thesis will give a brief introduction to Hemingway, his life experience, his literary status, and the theme he always reflected in his works. Secondly, it will give a brief introduction to “A Clean Well-Lighted Place”, including its concept, background and writing style. Thirdly, it will analyze the Iceberg Theory, which is considered as Hemingway’s writing concept, from its definition and its applications represented by the descriptions of the scenes and the dialogues in this story. Besides, symbolism and its application will also be touched here.

Keywords: Earnest Hemingway   “A Clean Well-Lighted Place”  Iceberg Theory  spiritual breakup

Contents

Abstract

摘要

Chapter One Introduction-1

1.1 Brief Introduction to Hemingway-1

1.1.1 Hemingway’s Life Experience-1

1.1.2 Hemingway’s Writing Style and Main Works-2

1.1.3 Hemingway’s Status in American Literature-3

1.2 Literature Review-3

Chapter Two Brief Introduction to “A Clean Well-Lighted Place”-5

2.1 Main Idea of “A Clean Well-Lighted Place”-5

2.2 Theme and Background of “A Clean Well-Lighted Place”-6

2.3 Writing Style of “A Clean Well-Lighted Place”-6

Chapter Three Analysis of “A Clean Well-Lighted Place” Based on Iceberg Theory-7

3.1 Iceberg Theory-7

3.1.1 Definition of Iceberg Theory-7

3.1.2 Reasons for the Formation of Hemingway’s Iceberg Theory-8

3.2 Application of Iceberg Theory in “A Clean Well-Lighted Place”-9

3.2.1 Advantages of Using Iceberg Theory-9

3.2.2 Analysis of the Scenes-9

3.2.3 Analysis of the Dialogues-10

3.2.4 Analysis of Symbolism-12

Chapter Four Conclusion-13

References-14