A Clean, Well-Lighted Place

A Clean, well-lighted place, like so many of Hemingway’s other works, is simple, and its essence is clearly stated. The story is filled with contrasts of light and dark, as an old man sits through another sleepless night in the peaceful, well-lighted café. This short story revolves around the difference between a clean, bright café and a dark, dirty bar as a place for lonely men to spend their sleepless nights. Furthermore, the story’s main idea focuses around these lonely old men who desire a haven apart from the darkness of the night and of their lives.
It begins by describing the simplistic scene, of a lonely man, afraid of returning to the darkness of his life, and peacefully happy in this quite café of solitude. The two speakers of this short st...