A Clean, Well-Lighted Place

by

Ernest Hemingway

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The Café Symbol Analysis

The Café  Symbol Icon

The café symbolizes the small pleasures that, in spite of life’s meaninglessness, make living feel dignified and comfortable. The old waiter and the old drunk both love to sit and drink at the café because it is quiet, and the shadow of its electric lights provides a nice haven under which to relax. In contrast, the young waiter cannot wait to leave the café and head home to his wife; he finds his meaning not in enjoying the present, but rather from external sources of validation, such as his wife. The waiter cannot appreciate the atmosphere of the café—he suggests that the old drunk could leave the café for a dirty bar or bodega, since he could also get drunk in those places, but this misunderstands the pleasure and dignity of the café itself. The young waiter’s goal-oriented outlook is shown to be out of step with the way of life that the café symbolizes, a worldview that recognizes that everything is meaningless except dignity and comfort.

The Café Quotes in A Clean, Well-Lighted Place

The A Clean, Well-Lighted Place quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Café . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Meaning and Meaninglessness Theme Icon
).
A Clean, Well-Lighted Place Quotes

Everyone had left the café except an old man who sat in the shadow the leaves of the tree made against the electric light.

Related Characters: Old Drunk
Related Symbols: The Café
Page Number: 288
Explanation and Analysis:
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The Café Symbol Timeline in A Clean, Well-Lighted Place

The timeline below shows where the symbol The Café appears in A Clean, Well-Lighted Place. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
A Clean, Well-Lighted Place
Despair Theme Icon
Late in the night, everyone has left the café except for an old drunk man sitting in the shadows cast by an electric light... (full context)
Meaning and Meaninglessness Theme Icon
Despair Theme Icon
...the young waiter hopes aloud that the soldier will escort the old drunk from the café, but the soldier doesn’t. (full context)