Life is virtually an empty void that humans try to fill with their own beliefs and definition of meaning. Many pieces of literature written in the mid 20th century recognize this concept. In "A Clean Well-Lighted Place," by Ernest Hemingway, the ultimate futility of life is expressed through the use of characterization, symbolism and dictation. Hemingway uses characterization as one of the main ways to draw attention to the ultimate futility of life. He uses the three main characters to represent the fact that as people age their purpose decreases. In the short story, the young waiter is the only character with a purpose in life. When talking about the old man, the young waiter says an hour is worth "more to me than him"" (2). The young waiter thinks he is more important than the drunk man because he has a purpose. He has yet to realize the nothingness that human life is. The middle-aged waiter, however, is beginning to realize that life will eventually end, and neither purpose nor meaning could change the fact that death is inevitable. He is in the midst of an existential crisis. He is at his turning point, realizing that life has no meaning. The old man is at the other end of the spectrum. He completely understands the fact that he is going to die, and there is no purpose. While in the cafe, all he does is drink his life away. He is in despair about "nothing" and the pure fact that life means nothing. Hemingway perfectly describes the stages of existentialism and the inevitable death using these three main characters. .
One of the main symbols in "A Clean Well-Lighted Place" is the cafe itself. The cafe represents an opposing idea to the concept of nothingness. The cafe acts as a distraction from the realization that life has no meaning and inevitably comes to an end. In the short story, both the deaf man and the older waiter favor being at the cafe. When talking about the cafe, the older waiter mentions that he is "with all those who need a light for the night"" (3).