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"A Clean Well-Lighted Place" by Ernest Hemingway In Ernest Hemingway's "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place, " the central idea of the story deals with the loneliness and despair associated with old age. An old and deaf man symbolizes this feeling, even though he does not quite say a dozen words in the course of the story. The discussions between the two waiters further develop this concept of loneliness. With a young waiter portraying the optimistic role of youthful human nature, that which believes itself both immortal and never alone; conversely, an older waiter is at the opposite pole, with a belief in an inevitable mortality and a terrible feeling of loneliness and despair. This conviction is apparent in the elder waiter's preoccupation with nada or nothing, through which Hemingway tries to impress upon the reader that man's inevitable fate is to enter into nothingness from nothingness, for life is nothing. The old man in the story sought merely to enjoy a drink in the company of a clean, well-lighted place.
Even though it is apparent he is comfortably set with his finances; the old man had attempted to commit suicide by hanging himself. The young waiter, who figures that hes lonely, surmises the reason for the attempted suicide to which the older waiter replies, "he might be better with a wife. " The loneliness and despair of the old man is largely a fault of his own; because he chose to see the darkness instead of the light, he chose to look upon death instead of life. The younger waiter believes that even a wife would be no good to him now. The young waiter is the impatient type and even becomes angry with the old man, wishing that "he should have killed himself last week. " Refusing to serve the old man another drink, the young waiter instead tells him to leave.
The young waiter is eager to get home to his wife and, busily sets out to close the shop. The old man slowly gets up and leaves, walking with dignity even though he has been thrown out of the cafe, a place where he felt comfort against the terrors of the night. The young waiter is constantly portraying his one-sided view of life, saying that an hour has more value to him than to an alcoholic old man. The younger waiter, ever true to his nature, tells the older waiter to "stop talking nonsense" so that he can go home.
The young waiter bids his co-worker good night and departs for home. The young man is similar to the old man because he has a narrow-minded outlook on the world, partly due to his age. The old waiter compares to that of the old man sitting on the terrace. The older waiter is upset at the younger one for expelling the man so early and feels that an hour is the same, regardless of age.
The older waiter relies upon his experiences throughout his life. He makes a joke to the young waiter, teasing him that he is so eager to return home before the usual hour. After the younger waiter leaves, the older waiter continues the conversation within his mind, asking himself what bothered him. It was not fear he realized with sadness, but a realization that everything was nothing.
Life was nothing and a man was barely even a trace amount of nothing. The older waiter makes the comment near the end of the story that "each night I am reluctant to close up because there may be someone who needs the cafe. " The older waiter is sympathetic to the old man because he himself is lonely. Confessing that " I am of those who like to stay late at the cafe, with all those who need a light for the night" The old waiter himself has never had confidence, lost his youth, and only has a job with which to comfort him. Tonight he tries to pass the night in a clean, well-lighted place.
The young waiter, impatient, to get home to his wife, does not comprehend the importance of this place to this old mans survival. The older waiter, who does understand, walks into the night himself, unable to find his own clean, well-lighted place in which to pass a lonely and sleepless night. This is a story about lonely old men who have no warm, welcoming place to be when darkness falls. The cities and villages must be full of such men, who drink in search of sleep that will not come, and crowd into dirty bodegas as a way to deny the quiet desperation, which can lead them to an even more abrupt self-destruction.
The piece is beautifully crafted, with the story within a story underscoring the ubiquity and commonality of the tales on lonely old men. The two waiters that discuss the old man represent youth and old age. The older waiter helps defend what the young waiter cannot see. All that the young waiter sees is an old, drunken man with no life and he doesnt even try to look at things in a different point of view. The older waiter likes to stay late at the cafe with all of those who do not want to go to bed. With all those who need a light for the night.
The younger waiter has youth, confidence, a job, and a wife. It is clearly shown that basically he has everything. All the young waiter can see is what he has now. He fails to realize what he might not have in the future. The older waiter says it all when he states It is not only a question of youth and confidence although those things are very beautiful. Each night I am reluctant to close up because there may be some one who needs the cafe.
It was all a nothing and a man was nothing. It is hard to try to imagine where someone is coming from. That is until you have walked a mile in their shoes. No one can ever truly comprehend what takes place unless you have been there and done that. That is what is wrong with the world today. People are too busy trying to make their point of views and stating their own opinions, that they fail to see where people are coming from or what they are trying to say.
The storys primary point of view is objective. At times, however, a limited omniscient point of view is used. Was I the only one that noticed that? It is amazing how people will state their point of view even though they are not asked. We have too many of those people in the world today!
I really enjoyed this story. It reminds me of the generation gap between my elders and me. Maybe from now on I might stop and think before I say something. Or stop and think before I give my opinion and try listening first. In conclusion, "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place" could be Hemingway's portrayal of life as he views it. He sees old age as a time of despair.
The story presents itself in an interesting way with which to view life, but an imperfect one. Although many people go through their lives in ignorance of the grand design, the old waiter "knew it all was nada y pues nada y nada y pues nada. " This preoccupation with nada is the elder waiter's attitude towards life. But, after visiting a bar, he felt better with himself, because the bar, even though well lit, was unpolished, while his cafe was clean and well lighted. For the young, an hour is forever, a time in which to do a thousand different things, all of which is the living of life.
In old age, an hour is also an eternity. All of this meaning that time is the most precious of all Word count: 1318
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Research essay sample on A Clean Well Lighted Place By Ernest Hemingway
