A Clean, Well-Lighted Place

The old man in the cafe comes in often for drink. He tries to pass the night in the clean well-lighted place, where he "liked to sit late because he was deaf and now at night it was quiet and he felt the difference". The young waiter does not realize the importance of the cafe to the old man. The young waiter states that the old man has tried to commit suicide before. He cannot seem to figure why because "he had plenty of money". The young man does not see any other reason for someone to kill himself or herself for any other reason besides money. This old man has not been cared for. The only reason that the old man was not successful in the suicide was because his niece saved him in "fear for his soul." Not for love or because she valued him. The young waiter thinks that the old man "has no regard for those that work", knowing that he has a lot of money. The old man is lonely unlike the young waiter who wanted to go home to his wife. The young waiter pours the drink carelessly with no regard for the old man not realizing the value of the cafe to the old man. The old man has nowhere to go after dark.

The older waiter can relate to this man, for he has nowhere to go after work as well. The waiter himself cannot find a clean well-lighted cafe of his own to pass the night. The old waiter is offended by how the young waiter has treated the old man. "Why didn't you let him stay and drink" the old waiter says. The old waiter tells the young waiter the he has youth, confidence and a job. The young man by no means is trying to be a mean person, he just does not understand the value of a nice place to sit and drink. It is hard for some to relate to others in the world. In Ernest Hemingway's "A Clean Well-Lighted Place" custom essay, our writers will demonstrate the different perspectives between the old and the young. As a person get older, things in their life change and the things that where important when you where young do not mean so much when you get older. The young waiter could not understand the man drinking, while the older waiter understood him perfectly. Term paper hint: The old waiter knew what it was like to have nothing.