Today was the first time that we’ve looked at a text in relation to the concept of belonging. The text I introduced to you was quite challenging, but you all did really well to understand its main ideas and how it relates to belonging.
For those of you who sadly missed our lesson (I’m looking at you Nate!) this is the text I’m talking about, the short story A Clean Well-lighted Place by Ernest Hemingway. You can read the story here and also check out some cool analyses of it here.
After reading the story Nic asked what other stories Hemingway had written. I couldn’t name any – a bit sad for an English teacher. So here is a link to his Wikipedia page, might help answer that question, Nic!
The story is essentially about three characters, the old man, the young waiter and the old waiter. The narrative occurs over the space of a few hours and the action takes place in only two locations – a cafe and a bar. I like that about this story – it has a certain stillness and simplicity to it that I think gives it a realistic feel. Do you like that style in stories? I think it works well in short, short stories like this.
As you listened to the story being read out you were asked to think about the concept ‘belonging’ and the way that Hemingway writes. You highlighted parts of the story relating to the concept in YELLOW and parts that you thought were well-written in PINK. This relates to our Belonging Wall where all CONCEPTUAL words are in YELLOW, all CRITICAL words are in BLUE and all CREATIVE words are in PINK. I was really impressed with how well you thought about this story and could identify the conceptual and creative elements of the story.
Some of the things you identified as a team were:
– the old man is depressed, lonely, aware of his approaching death, experiencing an ‘existential crisis’, feels a sense of connection to the cafe
– the younger waiter is arrogant, confident, alive, connected to his wife, disconnected from the old man and the cafe, belongs in his relationship and his home
– the older waiter is losing hope in life, he is depressed, lonely, seeking a purpose in life, he is connected to the cafe, understands the old man’s thoughts and feelings, feels disconnected from the wider world
Your homework task is to write a blog post reflecting on this story and what Hemingway is telling us about belonging to place, people and the wider world. We identified some conceptual nouns to use in your responses: disconnection, alienation, isolation, difference, understanding.
I’m really keen to read your responses – there is no pressure to structure it in a particular way – you just need to focus on your ideas about belonging.
Language Matters 