Light and Lonliness

In the first painting, "Morning sun", the young woman is sitting on her bed looking at the world. The sun is directly straight at her and she sits there in her darker atmosphere looking towards the light. Her face shows lonliness and tranquility. Her mouth shows she is tense. She is sitting on her butt, with her arns placed on her knees, showing that she is lonely. She has no one that can hold her or love her. She seems like she is comtemplating over matters as she looks through her window. the walls and the bed are plain and simple. But outside the room, there is where the beauty exists. There is a concrete palace like structure shown. The sun light focuses on teh building and its creative architecture. Similarily in "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place" and "Soldier's Home," the older waiter, the old man, and Kerbs experience this lonliness and through light, the escape fromis nothingness. Each of them sits in the light and thinks. The old man sits in the well lighted atmosphere and drinks. The older waiter looks at the old man and thinks about his life and the nothingness he has. Both the old man and the old waiter have no wives to love them or care for them. However, the young waiter does have a wife and is impatient to go home to her. He doesn't experince this lonliness and doesn't care for the light. The light helps the older men to escape from lonliness, but the younger waiter doesn't experience lonliness and therefore does not appreciate the light. Kerbs, as well, like to stay in the light. During the day, in the light, he does his activites. He thinks about women and how he doesn't want to do anything. The woman in the painting, the old waiter, the old man and Kerbs all experience lonliness and nothingness. The look towards the light as their escape were they find peace.

In the second painting, "Sunday," an old man sits on the steps outside of a dark, empty building. The building surrounding him are simple and lonley. they look old and unoccupied. The man sits outside with his arms crossed and head looking towrds the ground ahead of him. Unlike, "Morning Sun," the light is not directed towrd the person. In this case, there is light but the light casts a shadow of the man. He is sad and gloomy. His colthes show that he has money, but his facial expression demonstrates that he is not content with his life and is lonley. The younger, more materialistic waiter in "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place," believed that since the old man was rich he had no reason to commit suicide. This painting demonstrates that a person can have money but can still be depressed. Similar to Kerbs, the man sits outside and thinks about his conflicts. Kerbs sits outside on his porch and thinks about women and his life and how it has no value. This painting resembles the idea of wealth and that sorrow arises in darkness, but a person can be peaceful in light and escape lonliness suchas in the "Morning Sun".