Abstract

The short story “A Clean and Well-lighted Place” is one of Hemingway’s early works. It is a classical story with nihilism. But it also applies to the critic methods of existentialism. From the perspective of existentialism, the arrangement of the plot and the characterization in “A Clean and Well-lighted Place” satisfy the three principles of existentialism---existence precedes essence, absurd world and freedom of choice. In “A Clean and Well-lighted Place” people is confused with the existence and the loss of faith, which is also an extremely important issue in existential philosophy: how to face the spiritual crisis in life and find the courage to survive. Through analyzing the main characters’ awareness of death, their understanding of the absurd world and their attitudes towards existence, this thesis is intended to disclose Hemingway’s humanism by interpreting nihilism in “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” from the viewpoint of existentialism.

Keywords: a clean and well-lighted place; Hemingway；nihilism；existentialism

Contents

Abstract

摘要

1. Introduction-1

2. Literature Review-2

3. A Brief Introduction to Existentialism and Nihilism-4

3.1 Existentialism-4

3.2Nihilism-5

4. An Interpretation of Nihilism in “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” from the Viewpoint of Existentialism-7

4.1 Awareness of death-7

4.2 Absurd world-8

4.3 Attitude towards existence-9

5.Conclusion-11

Works Cited-12