Hemingway's Nada.

The philosophy of Hemingway's litterature and how he views Nada

Essay by Bronche, High School, 12th grade, A+, January 1996 In 'The light of the world' written by Ernest Hemingway Steve Ketchel is a boxer who symbolizes a Jesus figure for a woman called Alice. Alice, a 350 pound, unpleasant prostitute struggles with her current life. Her central being focuses at the belief that she had a sexual relationship with Steve Ketchel. This wishful illusion arises from a complex she has because of her ugly and unpleasant appearance. Nick Adams, the main Hemingway character, believes that Alice, although she has really given up her life, still has the chance to change and live a happy life. Steven K. Hoffman would call this belief Alice has 'nada'. Nada is a term used in Hemingways story 'A clean well lighted place'. Steven K. Hoffman interpreted the word in an Essay he wrote. The word nada translated to English, basically means 'nothing'. But further it means much more than the simple word nothing. Nada from the point of Alice's view means that there is nothing behind of her belief. That means that her life is not based on a concrete belief. She does not believe in any religion; her religion is Ketchel. That arises from her place in society. In society she is ranked very low. A prostitute has nothing to say in our society. And since she is that low she cant set her goals higher. Her goals could be the goals Jesus talks about. Her goal in life was and still is to sleep with more and more guys. Back to nada it means that she has nothing; nothing to believe in and nothing to live for. Alice lives in an illusion. It seems that she suppresses the fact that she is a fat prostitute. How much lower can you get? She suppresses her problems with her dreams and illusions. The most important... This way she could change and therefor change her belief. In conclusion I see that Hemingway offers a solution to Alice. Nick Adams is the embodiment of Hemingway. If Alice would join a real Ketchel, such as Nick she would rehabilitate and become a happy human being. Then she could believe in something more intelligent, such as the real Jesus figure. Since a boxer is not the kind of person to take as a belief.