Character Analysis of A Clean, Well-Lighted Place by Ernest Hemingway

In Ernest Hemingway's A Clean, Well-Lighted Place (1933), the last few moments of a café in Spain is chronicled. A young waiter becomes frustrated with an old deaf man as he orders more alcohol, and the older waiter sympathizes with him. The characters show different ideas that Hemingway is attempting to convey through their personalities. Each one represents the ideas of Hemingway that he had about youth, mid-age, and the old.

The character of the young waitress in the short story is the youth that is in conflict with the older generations. He is merely concerned with getting out of work and getting home to his family. "I wish he would go home. I never get to bed before three o'clock. What kind of hour is that to go to bed?" It seems that the idea is the youth has no concern with the seemingly petty needs with the old. It is somewhat selfish, but also selfless. This is in the sense that he cares to get home to his wife and be with her.

The character of the older waiter seems to be what Hemingway is. First, he sympathizes with the old man. "Why didn't you let him stay and drink?" the unhurried waiter asked. They were putting up the shutters. "It is not half-past two." He also seems to have an idea that there is nothing out there to begin with. This is apparent with his "nada" rant that he has toward the end of the story.

The only other character in this short story is the old man who is drinking in the café. He embodies what old age is to Hemingway. He has physical imperfections (he is deaf), and he is lonely. They mention that he attempted suicide. This adds to the idea that Hemingway thought that nothing was out there to live for. Hemingway was a person who lived his life to the fullest, and then cut it short.

Every author tries to convey a message in their stories. Hemingway has many more messages in this story he is trying to get across, but these are the simple messages he is conveying with his characters. His unique style, and just as a unique outlook on life gives his stories and characters a special flavor that can only be found in his stories. The three characters found in this short story is a trinity of personalities that Hemingway wanted to summarize.