Beginning of Essay
RESPONSE TO “A CLEAN WELL-LIGHTED PLACE” The old man, who we will call the “Gentleman,”-- to keep the confusion minimal between the old man and the old waiter -- in “A Clean Well-Lighted Place” cannot be happy without his wife. ....

Middle of Essay
.... old waiter is just coming out of middle age and even though the old waiter is poor he still understands that the money doesn’t matter. Also, the Gentleman can relate to the old waiter because he doesn’t believe money is significant either. So, the more the old man drinks the more these images of his inner self come out. Every night the Gentleman thinks what it would be like to be able to go home to his wife he had once been with and how the clean and pleasant café is a waste of his time. The younger waiter shows this when he says, “I want to go home to bed” and “He (the Gentleman) can buy a bottle and drink at home ....