A Clean Well-Lighted Place

Popularized by philosophers like Nietzsche or Dostoyevsky, existentialism defined much of philosophical thought in the early twentieth century. Existentialism’s central idea is that life inherently has no meaning. Rather, a person personally determines what gives his or her life meaning. Typically, one finds this meaning through contributing to other peoples’ lives (ref). For example, one may find meaning through raising a family, helping impoverished people, or working for the betterment of all society through scientific or political means. Existentialist thought influenced many twentieth century artists, including author Ernest Hemingway. In one of Hemingway’s short stories, A Clean Well-Lighted Place, a middle-aged waiter and one of his

In the last quarter of the story, the older waiter reflects that, to him, the world seems empty and meaningless. He inserts the word ‘nothing’ to the Our Father in place of the words ‘God’ and “heaven’, effectively destroying the idea of heaven and earth and, therefore, any greater spiritual meaning for humanity (Ref). While, religion may give meaning to some, even in old age, it does not give meaning to the old waiter because he is an atheist. This leaves the older waiter with no source of meaning in his life, as, like the old customer, he has no wife. While, the young man’s religion is not mentioned, atheism would not cause existential despair in him as it does the older waiter because, with his old age, the older waiter has less to distract him from thinking about the consequences of such a belief than the younger waiter. The trivial concerns of wealth and getting a proper sleep that fill the young man’s mind do not concern the old man as much because, with his age, has come the wisdom that they are trivial. Additionally, because both the older waiter and the old man do not have a wife and the old man does not even have a job, they have little to do with their time, leaving little to distract them from thoughts that cause existential anxiety. The older waiter spends his time wandering the streets, looking for a well-lit and clean bar to spend his night (Ref). As well, the old man stays at the waiters’ café because it is clean and well-lighted (Ref). Both the old man and old waiter are attracted to clean and well-lit places because they occupy the men’s time, distracting them from their thoughts. Furthermore, with old age, the older waiter better understands what would give his life meaning, a wife, and, therefore, recognizes that because he does not have wife, his life means little, which contributes to his existential despair. While the younger waiter is concerned with his daily