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Old Waiter
The young waiter, the antagonist of the story, is a server in the café with the old waiter. He is brash and callous toward the old drunk (a patron at the café) because he wants to get home to his family instead of staying at work. He even tells the old drunk (who is deaf) that the man should have killed himself the week before. During conversations with the old waiter about the old drunk, the young waiter betrays his naive attitudes about growing old, saying that an “old man is a nasty thing” and suggesting that the old waiter is simply talking nonsense by trying to empathize with the old drunk’s suicide attempt. The young waiter thinks that his time is more valuable than the two older characters’ time because he spends it on things that he thinks matter. Thus, after refusing the old drunk another drink and reducing the old waiter’s conversation points to “nonsense,” the young waiter exits the café and goes home.
Young Waiter Quotes in A Clean, Well-Lighted Place
The A Clean, Well-Lighted Place quotes below are all either spoken by Young Waiter or refer to Young Waiter. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
A Clean, Well-Lighted Place
Quotes
“Last week he tried to commit suicide,” one waiter said.
“Why?”
“Because he was in despair.”
“About what?”
“Nothing.”
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“I wish he would go home. I never get to bed before three o’clock. What kind of hour is that to go to bed?”
“He stays up because he likes it.”
“He’s lonely. I’m not lonely. I have a wife waiting in bed for me.”
“He had a wife once too.”
“A wife would be no good to him now.”
“You can’t tell. He might be better with a wife.”
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“I wouldn’t want to be that old. An old man is a nasty thing.”
“Not always. This old man is clean. He drinks without spilling. Even now, drunk. Look at him."
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“What is an hour?”
“More to me than to him.”
“An hour is the same.”
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“You have youth, confidence, and a job,” the old waiter said. “You have everything.”
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Young Waiter Quotes in A Clean, Well-Lighted Place
The A Clean, Well-Lighted Place quotes below are all either spoken by Young Waiter or refer to Young Waiter. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
A Clean, Well-Lighted Place
Quotes
“Last week he tried to commit suicide,” one waiter said.
“Why?”
“Because he was in despair.”
“About what?”
“Nothing.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
“I wish he would go home. I never get to bed before three o’clock. What kind of hour is that to go to bed?”
“He stays up because he likes it.”
“He’s lonely. I’m not lonely. I have a wife waiting in bed for me.”
“He had a wife once too.”
“A wife would be no good to him now.”
“You can’t tell. He might be better with a wife.”
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
“I wouldn’t want to be that old. An old man is a nasty thing.”
“Not always. This old man is clean. He drinks without spilling. Even now, drunk. Look at him."
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“What is an hour?”
“More to me than to him.”
“An hour is the same.”
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“You have youth, confidence, and a job,” the old waiter said. “You have everything.”
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