A Clean Well-Lighted Place

The plot of the story is simple. Two waiters serve an old man brandy near closing time. The young waiter is anxious to get rid of the deaf old man while the old waiter is sympathetic to his need to have a refuge of cleanliness and light against the nada of the world outside. The dark imagery of the story, it is set at night, and its location, Spain, a primarily Catholic country, are meant to reinforce modern man’s dilemma of being lost in a spiritual and moral wilderness. Any light provided in the story does not come from spiritual enlightenment or faith, instead it comes from an electric (i.e. artificial source). The cabin symbolizes a harbor of light in the darkness. However, the old man in the story is a lonely refugee from the world of God. He sits contemplating death, alone, and his contemplation of suicide shows that he has completely abandoned the world of God where such an act is viewed as mortal sin.

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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1181
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)

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