Parker Budzinski

Mr. Hackney
Rhetoric 101
13 November 2014
The Nothingness Within
Hemingway has successfully written and published many works, such as Papa and The Snows of
Kilimanjaro. It is no secret that Hemingway was one of the most symbolic people intertwined with art
in the United States. Hemingway was born in Oak Park, Illinois and began his writing addiction
throughout high school; many of his writings are tied back into his personal life. A Clean, Well-Lighted
Place portrays an old, drunk man who seems to cause nothing but problems to a young waiter working
at the caf. However, there is another-older- waiter who works their too; he appears to stick up for the
old drunk in his time of hardship. The two can relate in several ways that the young waiter will never
comprehend. The short story demonstrates the division that exists between how those of different age
groups view life as nothingness, due to some believing there is nothing to live for.
Economic class prevails throughout this short story, as the drunken man has a wealthy
background and the young waiter comes from a middle-class family. Although, the story does not
stretch deep into their economic background, it can easily be inferred that the two view life differently
because of that reason. The young waiter has views that he is more important than everyone else,
which is an example from the Critical Theory Today; Rugged Individualism, is a cornerstone of the
American Dream, is an ideology that focuses on me instead of us (56). As he says *h+e has no
regard for those who must work (Hemingway 297), the young waiter shows that he is under the
impression of himself being more superior because of the fact that he has a family and works. The drunk
male, is a wealthy old man who was married at one point in his life until his wife had passed. Now all

he has is his niece who cut the rope when he tried to hang himself. I am sleepy now, I never get into
bed before three oclock. He should have killed himself last week (Hemingway 297), remarks the
ruthless caf waiter. This goes to prove that to some younger people, the elderly are nothing but a
waste of life. However, to others, other people can relate significantly similar to him.
The old waiter disagrees strongly with his co-worker. He understands what and how the old man feels.
The story doesnt signify exactly how old the two elderly men are, however it may be assumed that they
are similar in age because of their views of life as nothingness. At one point the caf worker cannot take
his peer and states why the caf is so important to some: *i+t is not only a question of youth and
confidence although those things are beautiful. Each night I am reluctant to close up because there may
be some one who needs the caf (Hemingway 299). He continues with *y+ou do not understand. This
is a clean and pleasant caf. It is well lighted (299), when the snobby waiter tries arguing on why he
could go anywhere but there. Not once does the agreeing waiter say a single thing to or about the man.
He understands that he feels that life is not worth living because of his nothingness in life.
Once anybody begins to feel that they have nothing in life, their first consideration is suicide. After the
old mans unsuccessful attempt at that he continues to fall down a cliff in his life. However, it seems to
be that he found something in life that may mean something to him. The caf. To him this caf
represents the opposite of nothingness. It makes him feel that he is not a speck in a great sea of
nothingness anymore. Although, this nothingness Hemingway refers to cannot be clearly identified; it
is safe to assume that it simply represents nothing.
Bars and bodegas do not exemplify anything merely close to a well-lighted caf. Hemingway
gives small hints throughout his story as to what these differences are. The difference is that at a caf
you are more likely to be sitting with others at a round table and socializing. Where bars and bodegas
are usually dirty, you stand at the counter independently, and are not as nice overall as a caf. This is
why the drunk visits just about every night; to get out of the house and hopefully find a reason to live. It

has simply become a routine for him. He controls his routine, unlike the vast nothingness that surrounds
him and others daily. In a way it is him portraying some type of meaning into his lonely life.
There is a fine line between the opposing opinion(s) the two colleagues have regarding not only the
drunk man, but also towards life in general. The older worker portrays life as having no higher purpose
and that no higher being exists to help him make sense of it. Where as the young worker portrays life as
if he must constantly keep moving. He has to always support his family, or make money, or whatever it
is he thinks he needs to live a decent life. Ernest Hemingways short story, A Clean, Well-Lighted Place
reiterates the descending views between those of different age groups and how they view life as a
nothingness.

Works Cited
Hemingway, Ernest. A Clean, Well-Lighted Place. The Oxford Book of American Stories. Ed.
Joyce Carol Oates. New York: Oxford UP, 1992. 296-300 . Print.
Tyson, Louis. Critical Theory Today. New York: Garland, 1999. Print.