The literary pieces by Hemmingway and Pirandello can be compared. The piece by Pirandello was about a man, probably in his middle age, who had a wife that dies. He also loses his son, not to death, but because his son got married. He was able to see his life through the eyes of a child again after his son took him in and cared for him. However, one day when he was walking by himself, he was accused of being a pervert and he retreats to his home, staring at a blank wall. The theme of this story was of loneliness and despair. He stared at the blank wall because it was full of nothingness, just like his future. With the story of Hemingway, more characters were involved. This was a contrast between the views of a young waiter and an older waiter about a man who sits by himself in a café. The younger waiter was unjust and hurried the old man who only wanted a drink. It was revealed in the story that the old man tried to kill himself because he was in despair. This shared the same theme as the first literary piece written by Pirandello.
Despair and loneliness are common themes. In the two short stories, we see that the main characters are old men with no wives. They are alone and feeling sorry for themselves. The second story was a bit more moving because of the description it offers. We can see that some people have no regard for the loneliness or hurt of other people since they are not feeling it themselves. The sad and dramatic theme of both stories repeats itself not only through the characters but with the concise language. The images used in both stories were heavy and very meaningful.
Another theme that was seen in both was the need for a wife. It was said in both of the stories that the old men were sad because they once had a wife. This is something that the younger waiter in Hemmingway’s story did not understand. He himself had a wife, and he believed that a wife would do no good to the old man drinking brandy. However, it shows that people are not beings who like to be alone. There is a theme of partnership and sadness because of loss. Both men were sad and did not know what to do with their lives because they had lost the love of their life.
The theme of reality is also very deep in both of the pieces. In Pirandello’s piece, the reality of loss and not being able to control things around you was present. Within the second story, there was the reality of old age and the views of young people. People around you do not care about how you feel or what you think, because they have a mind of their own, they can think what they want. This was seen in the little girl’s reaction in Pirandello’s story. She might not have known the old man’s intentions, she was not aware that she jumped to conclusions, but to her, that is right. When it comes to Hemmingway’s piece, this was shown in the thoughts, blatant words and actions of the younger waiter.
Works Cited
Luigi Piradello. “The Soft Touch of Grass”. http://www.solarlottery.com/eng204/lect9.html
Ernest Hemmingway. “A Clean Well Lighted Place”. http://www.mrbauld.com/hemclean.html
