Hope Vs. Despair

Sarah Bauer

AP English-1

Hope vs. Despair

            There are two sets of contrasting themes in “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place,” the first being a lack of understanding in which members of a younger generation may display toward members of an older one, and the next being the difference between the lonely darkness and hope filled light. The story consists of two waiters, one is young and has both confidence and a wife waiting in bed for him, while the other is older, claims not to have confidence, and views the café as a safe haven for certain visitors. The waiters would gladly spend the early hours of the morning partaking in different activities, making this is a story of contrast and human emotion.

            The dialogue between the two waiters and between the younger waiter and the old man in the café shapes the characters. The younger waiter is impatient, and shows no sympathy for the old and deaf man in the café. He makes harsh comments such as, “I’m sleepy now. I never get into bed before three o’clock. He should have killed himself last week,” in reference to the old man’s futile attempt to commit suicide. It clearly agitates the younger waiter that this old man, though he “is clean…drinks without spilling. Even now, drunk,” enjoys staying in the café till 3 a.m. Though the old man is in fact very pleasant, as he is both neat and polite. The waiter on the other hand exemplifies rude behavior and he takes advantage of the fact the old man cannot hear, as he informs him he should of committed suicide, and as he makes comments such as “I wouldn’t want to be that old. An old man is a nasty thing.” The old man shows more respect for the waiter than the waiter does to him, a paying customer. Yet since this customer is both deaf and old, it is acceptable to disregard the old man, and treat him as if he has no feelings and is simply a “dumb drunk.” The younger waiter states the old man “has no regard for those who must work,” but it is the waiter who has no regard for those who have lost their wives, who are old and lonely, and who simply need a clean and well-lighted place to pass the hours. On the other hand, the older waiter believes that some people need the café to pass time, such as the old man, yet the younger waiter wins and the old man is “kicked out” as the café closes.

            The main reason the café closes is because it is almost three in the morning, and the younger waiter wants to get back to his wife. Yet, to the older waiter and the old man, it is still a decent hour to be out, especially when there is no alternative. The older-waiter even asks, “Why didn’t you let him stay and drink?...It is not half past two,” showing his compassion and understanding for the old man. Loneliness and despair are the forces that keep both the old man and the older waiter up at night. The old man has no wife, unlike the younger waiter, and therefore he has no one to return to. All he has is an empty bed. In fact he feels “empty,” and the fact that he tried to commit suicide shows he has lost his hope in life. The older waiter also claims at the end of the story to suffer from insomnia, as he cannot fall asleep till the sun rises. Yet, it is the hollowness and fear of the hopeless dark that keeps him up at night, and a good light, such as the electrical light in the café, provides comfort and acts as a symbol of hope to these lonely souls. The older waiter recites the Lords Prayer as the café closes and he replaces many of the words in the prayer with the word nada, showing that he has nothing, and feels hopeless under the grace of God.

            The older waiter goes to a bar after the café closes, yet he does not get the same satisfaction from the bar’s atmosphere as he did in the café, even though the bar’s light is pleasant. The barmen thinks the older-waiter to be “otro loco mas” which is similar to the feelings of annoyance the younger waiter felt towards the old man. The night therefore consumes all the characters with feelings of loneliness, and restlessness, and whereas the younger waiter yearns to be home with his wife, the older characters yearn for light in their dark desperate worlds. 

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