The Path to Existentialism

A detailed Summary of The Path to Existentialism

Existentialists believe that many things exist, but are pointless until fully experienced or acted upon. They usually reject religion and forms of divinity and live their lives in solitude without any fear of consequence, so this allows them to have the freedom of choice. The story "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place" by Ernest Hemingway is a work of existentialism because of the characters present in the story. Hemingway, through the characters of the old man, the young waiter, and the old waiter in the story, illustrates three positions on the path to existentialism.

The old man represents the end of the path to existentialism in the story. He has already experienced the certain things in life that he wanted to experience, and he no longer finds it necessary to be among the living. Existentialists enjoy the freedom of choice and therefore the old man might have also wanted to choose the time and place of his death as death is one thing the existentialist cannot control unless acted upon. This feeling compels the old man to attempt suicide, but his attempt fails, and he has now returned to a life of solitude as existentialists are accustomed to. He obviously goes to this cafe to be alone in his solitariness and to keep others from com

As the old man and the younger waiter are on opposite sides of the existentialist spectrum, Hemingway uses these characters of different ages to show how they differ in their perception of the world. The young waiter sees a soldier and a prostitute walking down the street and he claims that a guard will pick the soldier up, but the older waiter replies, "What does it matter if he gets what he's after?" (Hemingway 29). This demonstrates that the older waiter does not fully concur with the societal precepts stated by the young waiter whereas the younger waiter follows a predetermined societal tradition. He is very egotistical and does not understand the awkward demeanor of the old man as the old waiter does. The only objective on the young waiter's mind is his determination to get home to his wife. The older waiter says to the younger waiter, "You have youth, confidence, and a job. You have everything" (Hemingway 32). The young waiter doesn't comprehend that these factors are only temporary and because these are the only factors that are important to him, old age will bring much disappointment and failure. He believes that he is living a meaningful life whereas he is really just reacting to the restrictions of societal tradition. The only pleasure the young waiter finds in his life are his house and his wife. He states, "An old man is a nasty thing" (Hemingway 31). The young waiter's valu

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Approximate Word count = 940
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English