A Clean Well Lighted Place Summary

Without the young waiter in “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place,” there would be little plot or symbolism. The young waiter is of course young, but also self-seeking and inconsiderate. Throughout the entire plot development of the story, his only interest is in leaving the bar to return home to his girlfriend. He has no regard for the old man drinking in the bar. One exchange of dialogue between the

In “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place”, author, Ernest Hemingway shows the heart wrenching tale of a man who dreads going home in fear of being lonely. The old man would sit in the bar until two/three in the morning drinking away the moonlight. One of the waiters became furious with him as the waiter wanted to get home to his wife in bed. One quote that shows the waiters misunderstanding towards the older gentleman is: “He’s lonely. I’m not lonely. I have a wife waiting in bed for me” (144). While the younger waiter could not wait to go home to his wife, the older gentleman had no one but his niece to go home to. He once had a wife and she is deceased. One revealing quote is: “It is not only a question of youth and confidence although those things

In “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” the narrator describes the importance of the cafe compared to all the other places that are open to convey the idea of loneliness and despair. Through the use of imagery, symbolism, point of view and, allegory Ernest Hemingway establishes a connection between the older waiter and the deaf guy, as he illustrates the significance the well-lit cafe brings to their lonely night. As the waiters discuss their thoughts on being open so late, the older waiter claims to be one of those who enjoy the aura of the cafe being open so late compared to other places. “With all those who do not want to go to bed. With all those who need a light for the night.“ The role the cafe plays to diminish loneliness and despair does not go unrecognized by the older waiter and deaf guy who find their escape in that clean well-lit cafe. Loneliness screams louder at night for those who walk through it by themselves. They look to find comfort in a well-lit place with a calm and pleasant aura. The feeling displayed between the old deaf man and older waiter does not register with the younger waiter who does not understand the search of finding peace found in the cafe. The younger waiter has a wife to go home to as the older deaf man and older waiter have nothing and that is their escape from their dark loneliness, the cafe. Since it is clear that Ernest Hemingway has established that the old deaf man

The younger waiter believes he has “no regard for those who have to work.” On the contrary the older waiter also doesn’t belong to a family and attempts to explain “he stays up because he likes it” “it’s clean and well lighted” the light acting as a metaphorical parallel to the comfort the café offers in his otherwise dark life. Seeing as the older waiter understands him he does his best to make the customer feel he belongs and build a relationship with him. He realises that not everyone shares the same perspective realising “it’s not only a question of youth” but in this case a question of lack of relationships allowing sympathy and explaining his actions.

The young waiter has a harsh view of him as well because on occasion the old man has been so drunk he walks out on his bill. The younger waiter has a different respect for time, it’s precious to him and he values it. “I wish he would go home. I never get to bed before three o’clock. What kind of hour is that to go to bed?” “He stays up because he likes it.” “He’s lonely, I’m not lonely. I have a wife waiting in bed for me.” “He had a wife once too” (153). The older you get, the more time wears down on you, and you begin to now, greater than ever, feel your mortality. This theme is used to help the reader understand the older mans pain and that no matter how young and confident someone is, they will eventually grow old and die.

The themes of desperation, frustration, and loneliness can be seen within the three main characters: Hubert, Vinz, and Saïd.

The old waiter seems to have more sympathy on the old man. He is also more similar to the old man. He can understand the old man’s feeling. The old man stays late at café and is unwilling to go home because he is afraid of loneliness and emptiness. His deaf is a symbol that he is isolated from the world he is living. Being old and useless, he cannot gain the dignity and honor he values. All he has is money, but he cannot buy confidence he needs most using all his money, so his life is meaningless. This cannot be understood by the young waiter who pursues money only. The old waiter, in some way, is a transition period of the young waiter and the old man. He is older than the young waiter and younger than the old man. He is not young enough and heads for old age in his life. He can experience and understand all loneliness the old man is experiencing because he himself feels loneliness, emptiness and meaningless. For example, he understands the old man’s reason for not willing to leave the café. “He stays up because he likes it." He argues for the old man, “You can't tell. He

Hemingway is able to establish a connection with the reader by putting together the different elements used to make a great story. The setting is everything that includes the physical surroundings of the character including: place, time, weather, and atmosphere. The point of view is a particular attitude or way of considering a situation. The theme of a story is whatever general idea the entire story reveals. As Hemingway's mature, journalistic style developed, the use of setting, theme and point-of-view emphasized and lead

He is never in a hurry to leave the job, and does not mind it because of a fear of no sleep in darkness. The older waiter recognizes himself as a version of the old man. The resemblance causes the older waiter to defend the old man by allowing his presence late at night in the café. Rather than owning up to his loneliness, the waiter refers to it as insomnia. The waiter’s “insomnia” is a more complex element in his life.

The younger waiter has all the time in the world since he is young, confident, has a wife, and has a job. He is not sympathetic to the old man’s plight because he still has a lot of time in the world. The old man has conflicts with his own ‘life’, it has made him despair and lonely, doesn’t present any good. In Ford’s story, the conflict is between Steven and Marjorie. The solution of their conflict depends on how they give meaning to their lives.

“We are all a Lost Generation”; is the opening epigraph to the Roman A Clef styled novel The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway has many different themes throughout the book, some of them being Robert Cohn’s guidebook The Purple Land, and the alcohol presence in Jake’s life. Many times throughout the book these themes can and do collide.

Out of the short stories that I wrote about, the one that best follows Faulkner’s dictum would have to be “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place”. This story is about connecting with others, even if through commiseration. Though the people wallowing about the bar are lonely and feel that they have nothing to go home to, they have each other. Knowing that you are not alone, that is something. They endure the hardships and loneliness of their everyday lives and end their day amongst people such as the older waiter, who take pity on them because they have experienced the very same feelings. For me, this story begged the question: if you have nothing, but share that feeling of nothingness with many others, does it make it something? I felt that this story

      Hemingway's second portrayal of symbolism that a reader may distinguish is the café itself.  The café represents a sanctuary of the evilness of the world.  The namesake of the short story is a clue for the reader to see that the café would represent some form of an asylum not only from the elements of nature, but also safety from evil.  An example of the usefulness of this sanctuary is how the deaf old man uses the café as a safe-haven to be to himself after the incident where he almost succeeded in committing suicide and enjoys the comfort the café gives.  The old waiter represents in the café the kindness and caring that the café should provide; whereas the younger waiter is more of a materialistic character.  He clearly displays shallowness and selfishness.  Arthur Waldhorn writes that the older waiter helps keep the light on a little longer at the café for those, who like himself, 'do not want to go to bed.' (P 28)  The younger waiter is a protagonist in attitude of the older waiter.  The philosophy of Nihilism is brought into this theme when the older man recites the Lord's Prayer but substitutes the word "nada" for every noun in it.  Nihilism is brought onto a larger scale because it is very evident that there is nothing to believe in, even as a

A clean well lighted place by Ernest Hemingway has a few themes that stand out clearly but the one theme that stands out to me is despair. According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, despair means to lose all hope or confidence. In the story, the older waiter and the old deaf man somehow share a common bond of despair. Both men are of age and like to be out, late at night, alone. Asides from the story alone, the theme of the story can be brought out by the setting. The setting contributes to the story’s theme in different ways. The setting contributes to the mood of the story, to the structure of the story, and to the lesson of the story. The café represents salvation for despair which is shown through the setting of the

When first reading Ernest Hemmingway’s “A Clean Well-Lighted Place” it seems to be nothing more than a simple short story. But when looking deeper into the narrative one realizes how meaningful and insightful this story truly is. It brings the readers to understand the dark reality of life and different views between young and old. Hemingway sets an atmosphere of despair and loneliness throughout the entire dialogue and monologue within. The story is an interaction between two waiters, one old one young, within a café in Madrid, Spain. The two waiters argue about an old regular of the café, who comes alone and drinks until closing time. Throughout the story, the two men reflect on the nature of happiness and the inevitability of death. The story exhibits how age has an immense effect on the way we observe life. In Hemmingway’s “A Clean Well-Lighted Place” the age difference between these two colleagues brings a difference in personality, values, and solidarity.