"A Clean, Well-Lighted Place- by Ernest Hemingway is a story about two waiters in a café. They only have one more customer in the café and are waiting for him to finish so they can close the café. This is a very simple story, but it explores the nature of loneliness by contrasting the attitudes and reactions of the two waiters. In this story the author points out that loneliness results in behavior that is more readily understandable to a person who has experienced it, in this case the older waiter. On the other hand, the younger waiter is totally unable to empathize with an emotion that is unfamiliar to him.
Hemingway explores the attitudes of the waiter about old age through conversation and their comments about the old man who is the last patron in the café. The young waiter is disgusted and frustrated with the patron, because he is staying so late. The young waiter has no sympathy for the old man and just wants him to leave. The impatient waiter says, " I wouldn't want to be that old. And old man is a nasty thing- (156). Instead of having respect for his elders and thinking that, with age, come status, he thinks being old is the worst stage in life. The younger waiter feels somewhat insulted that the old patron stays so late, keeping him for going home to his wife. He states, " He has no regard for those who must work- (155). Unlike the older waiter who really doesn't mind the old patron staying so late. The older waiter even says, " What's another hour?- This just shows how the old waiter understands and cares about the old man and disagrees with the young waiter about old age and the old man. This understanding for the old man is because they share a common position in life, that of being older.
The two waiters have different attitudes about going home. The young waiter is getting really upset at the old man because he can't leave and he wants to go to his wife.
