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A Clean Well-Lighted Place Essay

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A Clean Well-Lighted Place

A Clean, Well-Lighted Place by Ernest Hemingway looks at age from the viewpoint of an inexperienced and experienced individual, with the aid of an old man to emphasize the difference between the two. This story takes place late one night in a caf. The caf is clean, pleasant, and well lighted, which brings some kind of comfort to the atmosphere. Here in the caf sits a deaf, lonely, older man, who although is deaf can feel the difference that the night brings to the caf, a younger waiter, who believes people stay around the caf to make his life miserable, and a waiter who is a bit older and seems to understand that this place, the caf, is comforting. The older man spends his late nights in the caf, because at …show more content…

The dialog about the couple between the two waiters is classic. The older waiter states, The guard will pick him up, then the younger waiter goes on to say What does it matter if he gets what he is after? I believe this conversation shows a dramatic difference in age between these two men, while the older waiter knows and thinks about the consequences and effects his actions will place upon him, the younger waiter does not and lives for the moment, which is a typical characteristic of youth. As one grows older they come to realize the differences in living for the moment and living for the moment in a rational way. One can still live for the moment and be spontaneous but do it in a way that it will not have high consequences upon others. Late into the night the younger waiter cuts the old man off of the brandy so he could lock up and get home to his own wife. The young man believes his time is too valuable to waste on people whom have nobody or nowhere to go. What is an hour? More to me than to him. This young man does not actually believe that his time is more precious than the old mans time; he was just in a hurry. What is the difference of getting home to your wife at 2am or 3am? The only difference that I notice when it is already that late is the number on the clock. The two waiters then go on to discuss the characteristics between a young and older person, using themselves as the symbols to

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