Discusses the Ernest Hemingway short story, A Clean, Well-Lighted Place. Describes the story and then relates it to personal experiences.

"A Clean, Well-Lighted Place" by Ernest Hemingway is a powerful and depressing investigation of the meaning of life. Everyone, at one time or another, has asked this fundamental question of why have we been put on this planet. The older waiter represents all who do not understand their purpose. One's life is nothingness if it is without a purpose.

Essay provides an analysis of "A Clean Well Lighted Place" by Ernest Hemingway.

A response to Ernest Hemingway's short story "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place," about an old man who regularly visits a café late at night to escape from the darkness of the world. Unlike the younger of the two waiters at the café the older waiter can relate to the old man's situation.