This works in relation to the old man's desire to stay at the cafe because it is nothing that awaits him when he goes home. In the bright cafe, the world is literally a brighter place. Hoffman notes, "Because nada appears to dominate 'A Clean, Well-Lighted Place,' it has been easy to miss the fact that the story is not about nada per se but the various available human responses to it" (Hoffman). This notion forces us to look at the old man's mood and the importance of how he feels. He goes on, "The clean, well-lighted place that is, is not actually a 'place' at all; rather, it is a metaphor for an attitude toward the self" (Hoffman). From this perspective, we can see the depth of the old man's loneliness. He needs the cafe to lift him from the darkness that otherwise surrounds him.
The different moods and atmospheres in the story are highlighted by the two waiters and their place in life. Their conversation allows us to understand the different atmospheres that Hemingway has created with the story. One waiter is young and married and finds his joy being with his wife while the other waiter has lived longer and finds little joy in the world. They are not simply individuals in this story - they represent phases of life. The young waiter in still in a happy phase in that he has not been beaten down by life and circumstances. He is "all confidence" (Hemingway 143) but the older waiter is not. He finds joy in many things and simply cannot relate to despair. The older waiter represents a phase of later life when one must accept old age and the loneliness that accompanies it. Unfortunately, he can relate to the old man's despair. This allows him to have pity on these people that need a respite from the cruelty of life and it gives him pleasure to know that...
The older waiter is old, too, and he understands the importance of finding a place that takes him away from the troubles and worries of life. The two waiters allow us to explore the atmosphere of the cafe and the old man's mental state.
Hemingway explores mood and setting in "A Clean Well-Lighted Place" by placing two very different concepts next to each other. The cafe is a bright light of reprieve in a town where old age and loneliness can lead to despair. The cafe is simply a cafe but the fact that it is bright at night and clean give it significance in comparison to life and how it can get dirty at times. The cafe is just the opposite of the old man's dark, depressive state of mind. The cafe becomes important because the old man needs it. It is more than a place to drink; it is a place to escape the darkness that he finds at home. With thee two contrasting images, Hemingway emphasizes the atmosphere of the cafe as well at the old man's frame of mind. This story illustrates how important the setting of a story can be in that while it seems to operate quietly in the background, it is actually providing us with much information that helps shape characters.
Works Cited
Michael Adams. "A Clean Well-Lighted Place." Masterplots. 2004. GALE Resource Database.
Information Retrieved March 29, 2009.
Hoffman, Steven. "Nada and the Clean Well-Lighted Place." Essays in Literature. 1979. GALE
Resource Database. Information Retrieved March 29, 2009.
Hemingway, Ernest. "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction,
Poetry, and Drama X.J. Kennedy, ed. New York: Longman. 1998.
