A Clean, Well-lighted Place

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A Clean, Well-lighted Place

• By Ernest Hemingway

Zhang Yinghong Taicang Senior High School
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Learning objectives

• By the end of this period, students will be able
  to
• 1. know more about Hemingways life
  experiences and the influence on his writing
• 2. have a better understanding of the
  story (esp. character analysis and the theme)
• 3. know how to read literature and increase
  their interest in reading literature.

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presentation
Im from group___. We have found that
in/during__________, Hemingway___________________
_____, which had a great influence on his
writing. In our opinion, _________________________
_________________________________________
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Get into the story

• Category
• Setting
• Characters

short story
where
in a Spanish cafe
the deaf old man the young waiter the older waiter
who
what
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Plot
Two waiters discuss an old man who gets quietly
drunk each night in a café. Rich as he is, he
tried to kill himself, but was rescued. So he
tries to pass the night in a clean, well-lighted
place. The young waiter, to get home to his wife,
doesnt comprehend the importance of this place
to this old mans survival. The older waiter
understands the old man.
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Hemingways iceberg theory
1/8 surface facts
7/8 what the author consciously hides
Character analysis
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expressions used to describe a person

• confident
• lonely
• in despair
• positive
• clean
• cautious
• dignified with self-control
• polite
• impatient
• bad-mannered
• self-centred
• cold-hearted
• kind
• understanding
• merciful
• looking for a shelter
• social

Group work Choose the expressions that can be
used to describe the old man, and find the
evidence in the short story.
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example

• In my opinion, the old man is looking for a
  shelter and wants to escape from the world,
  because in the short story(line1- line 2, on P 1)
  we can find the evidence that everyone had left
  the café except an old man who sat in the shadow
  the leaves of the tree made against the electric
  light. In my understanding, the shadow is a
  symbol of a shelter and the electric light
  symbolizes the reality.

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expressions used to describe a person

• confident
• lonely
• in despair
• positive
• clean
• cautious
• dignified with self-control
• polite
• impatient
• bad-mannered
• self-centred
• cold-hearted
• kind
• understanding
• merciful
• looking for a shelter
• social

As far as were concerned, the old man_________,
because in the short story (line?-line?, on P? ),
we can find the evidence that ____________. In
our understanding, ________________
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the young waiter and the older waiter

• From the story we know that the two waiters have
  quite different attitudes towards the old man.
  Which waiter do you prefer? And why? Can you find
  the evidence in the story to support your idea?

As far as were concerned, we prefer_____________
because we think he is ________________(his
personalities). As we can find in the
story(line?-line?, on P? ), ______________________
______________
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• The young waiter
• The older waiter
• The old man

youth
three stages in life
middle age
old age
a transition from being young and confident to
aging and feeling lonely
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theme

• Whats Hemingways intention of writing this
  story?
• What is the theme of the story?

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• How can we better appreciate literature?

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• There is no friend as loyal as a book.
• 
  ----- Ernest Hemingway

More works from Hemingway The sun also
rises (1926) A farewell to arms (1929)
For whom the bell tolls (1940) The old
man and the sea (1952)
Thank you!