Ernest Hemingway’s “A Clean, Well-lighted Place” deals with the correlation between youth and age. Throughout the story, the symbolism and characterization prove that it’s not out of the ordinary to feel isolated and lonely with age. This is shown through the book by examining the two older men and the young waiter. The older men are represented as lonely, isolated humans; they feel no purpose in their lives. The two older characters share a sense of despair and it makes perfect sense for them to pursue a life in a direction where there is a clean well-lighted place. That clean well-lit place may be exactly what the two men need to have a meaning in their life. The younger waiter is a tad bit different in the sense that he is excited and impatient to move on with his life. The waiter being ready to move on shows no sympathy for the old man. Since the mindsets of the two characters are completely opposite, the waiter doesn’t respect the old man because he doesn’t understand his point of view. The only one who somewhat understands the old man is the older waiter. He provides the same mindset as the old man and can sympathize with him since he understands what his mind is going through.
It is evident that the older men have a different approach to appreciating and comprehending the importance of life. Hemingway incorporates symbolism of the light and darkness to help understand the life of the characters in the story. The well-lit café has a deep value and meaning to the older men compared to the younger waiter. The café provides a comforting, stable environment where people who are feeling lost can feel a sense of dignity. The darkness represents a series of feelings such as loneliness, scariness, and intimidation of death. As Hemingway portrays, the well-being of humans changes as they progress through life and age and so does their appreciation of the world. He implements this with his use of symbolism and characteriz...