A Clean, Well-Lighted Place

Overview

Introduction

• Our story opens with two waiters, working at a cafe late at night.
• One of their regulars is an old man that enjoys staying for all hours of the night and getting drunk
• The waiters discuss the old man's attempted suicide from a few days ago. The younger waiter doesn't understand why the old man would want to kill himself - "He has plenty of money."
• The young waiter is anxious to close up the cafe and get home to his wife, while the older waiter is okay to let the old man stay a while longer.
• The old man eventually leaves and the older waiter goes to a bar nearby and spends some time contemplating the meaning of life.
• The older waiter goes home and falls asleep just as dawn is starting to break.

The Young Waiter

• The young waiter is selfish. He thinks only of himself and his needs throughout the story. This is evidenced by his rush to close up and get home, and his annoyance at needing to tend to the old man so late at night.
• His comments about the old man's age and attempted suicide show his naivety. He doesn't understand that youth and money are not the only factors at play in someone's happiness. To quote:
• "He was in despair [about] nothing... He has plenty of money."
• "He's lonely. I'm not lonely. I have a wife waiting in bed for me."
• "I wouldn't want to be that old. An old man is a nasty thing."
• He fails to understand the comfort that the cafe offers to those who have nowhere else to go so late at night. He thinks the bodegas that are open will suffice, although the older waiter disagrees.

The Old Waiter

• The old waiter is much more patient than his younger counterpart.
• He seems to be a bit more morose, however.
• He identifies with the old man's feelings of sadness and understands how lonely life can be. He feels himself age and it saddens him. For example:
• "You can't tell. He might be better with a wife."
• "Why didn't you let him stay and drink?"
• "You have youth, confidence, and a job. You have everything... I have never had confidence and I am not young."
• His inner dialogue reflects the belief that life has no meaning.
• "It was a nothing that he knew too well."
• "It was all nothing and a man was nothing too."
• "He knew it all was nada y pues nada y nada y pues nada."
• "Hail nothing full of nothing, nothing is with thee."

The Cafe

• The cafe appears to be a very welcoming place to rest.
• It stands out from other bars and bodegas because it is "a clean and pleasant cafe. It is well lighted. The light is very good and also, now, there are shadows of the leaves."
• It offers a sense of solace, an opportunity to escape the depravity of life's problems. It is quiet, so its patrons can breathe and have a moment to themselves.
• The older waiter understands this because he is troubled by a sense of unimportance and loneliness.
• The old man is deaf, but it is mentioned at the beginning of the story that he can sense a shift in the atmosphere when the hustle and bustle outside dies down. The peace and quiet seems to be why the cafe is his hideaway of choice.

Key Points

• The young waiter represents the naivety and arrogance of youth. He fails to comprehend how anyone can feel so lonely when they have money. He is appalled by the idea of growing old.
• The old waiter represents the idea that life becomes lackluster with age. He pities the old man and understands his despair.
• The old man represents the darkness of growing old. His character highlights how things change and offers a sneak peek of what's to come for the old waiter.
• The cafe represents a place that allows people the chance to get out of their own heads for a while, to forget about the problems plaguing their minds.