A Clean Well-Lighted Place Essay

“A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” Short Story Review In Ernest Hemmingway’s short story, “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place,” an old man and young waiter conflict over their differing views on an old drunk, the young waiter dismissing the old drunk as a waste of space, and in contrast, the old man sympathizing with the old drunk, stipulates their despair, old men need a clean, well-lighted place to seek solace from the pains of life. This need is about a need in old age to have a clean and dignified place to seek refuge from the darkness of the night. The young waiter is impatient, and the old man knows the world is harsh and that no one should be in a hurry to see the end. The old waiter illuminates the meaninglessness faced in old age and the difficulty

The two of them are similar because they are creatures of the night, old men with lots of time on their hands, with little in their lives to derive self-actualization from. The clean, well-lit café, is a dignified place that creates hope, in contrast to a bar or bodega which are shady places for men like them. The notion of suicide from the drunk and dismissive internal recitation of the Lord’s Prayer paint a picture of a reality in which these men are no longer fulfilled by life or its promises. In an article entitled “The Search for the Absolute in A Clean Well Lighted Place and The Snows of Kilimanjaro,” Sam Bluefarb states “In his own way, he had tried to find an absolute answer to his own absolute despair.” These things, taken together, show that the old men only have dignity and pride remaining. They devote their energies to preserving these things, a quest which keeps them awake at night, and causes them to despair at how little remains in life. Bluefarb goes on to say that the young waiter is impatient and young, and therefore, lacks sympathy for the old

The world moves at a different speed for him and the old drunk that he sympathizes with. The younger waiter has the “always trying to get somewhere” mentality and lacks patience and sympathy. The primary difference between the two is the older waiter knows that there is nothing in the world worth being in a hurry for. The older waiter recites the Lord’s Prayer, replacing the words with nothing. He sees the world as empty for someone like him and the drunk; things like expectations, hope, faith, and religion, which give people hope, don’t exist for them. Bluefarb alludes to this, writing “Thus, in "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place," nada (or a universe without God) becomes itself an Absolute-a perfect, but negative, vacuum.” Bluefarb also points out “The older waiter, on the other hand, suffers from what James has called the "sick soul.” He’s a cynic making an honest observation about the world he lives in a world without