Life, based on modernist fiction, has no meaning. In a sea full of people, only one person is just a small, insignificant part of a larger heterogeneous group in which our life has no value Using his short story "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place" as a means with the literary elements of characterization and. light and dark imagery, Ernest Hemingway proposes the above-mentioned concepts and puts forward the idea that a single person's life has no value and no meaning.Say No to Plagiarism Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned” ?Get an original essayIn the short story, characterization through the author's words An older waiter is used to reveal the old man's traits and subsequently support the position of. Hemingway on the Value of Life. Set in a cafe late at night, an older man drinks to get drunk. He is a regular customer of the establishment, and both. the waiters, one old and one young, often reflect on the old man, his actions and his life. They explain that he attempted suicide last week because “he was desperate” over “nothing” (Hemingway 1). This introduces the reader to Hemingway's often used concept of nada, or nothingness. It is obvious that the man is alone and feels nothing because of his suicide attempt. He has nothing in his life and feels useless. He has no wife, no life, and other than coffee, nowhere to live out the rest of his otherwise empty life. In other words, he is a lost man and someone who has nothing to live for. This is a man who will likely attempt suicide again. Strengthening the characterization argument, the characterization of the old man through the inner thoughts of the older waiter further advances the idea that life is meaningless. The older waiter says that "a woman would be of no use to him now" to curb his loneliness, indicating that he infinitely feels like he is nothing and is in a deep pit of depression. from which he cannot escape (Hemingway 1). Towards the end of the story, when the young waiter tells the old man that he will no longer serve him drinks and the older waiter himself is cleaning the bar, he recites the prayer "Our Father" , replacing quite a few words with nada. , which again means nothingness. Not only does this avoid the idea that religion is meaningless and nothing, but it also reinforces the idea that life itself is meaningless. Additionally, through the characterization we get from the older waiter, we learn that he is in a similar situation to the old man. After closing the café, the older waiter stops for a drink at a bodega because, like him, he is reluctant to return to the nothingness that awaits him in the dark, just outside the refuge that is the bodega. The narrator said, “He [the older waiter] would lie down in bed and finally, with the light of day, he would fall asleep” (Hemingway 2). Only light makes him forget nada, or nothingness. the old man's suicide attempt serves as a form of indirect characterization of the old man, but it also makes him want to take refuge in the café. This is revealed through light and dark images. Outside the refuge that is the café, there is. nothing but darkness, “shadows” and “empty tables” (Hemingway 1), however, things are different. The title describes it as “clean” and “well lit”. The man survived his suicide attempt and remains at the café to avoid his possible return to nada, or nothingness. He realizes the futility of life and the world itself. it is clear that only the light of the café prevents.