In Ernest Hemingway's "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place," the older waiter helps to provide an understanding of life. In his experience a man needs confidence, youth, and a job in order to have everything. The older waiter attempts to explain the status of the old man they are serving to the younger waiter. When the younger waiter has trouble grasping what happens when a man grows up he grows impatient and forces the old man to leave. Throughout the story the waiter evaluates and derives the meaning of the value of life. The old man sets the stage for the deep thoughts of the more experienced waiter. After an attempt to kill himself, the old man was saved by his niece, and this makes both waiters wonder why he would try to do such a thing. The older waiter, while his age is undefined, clearly has more experience than the younger waiter. He establishes the differences between nothing and everything, and as a result begins to evaluate life and what it means. He states about himself that "[He] never had confidence and [is] not young." While lacking confidence and youth he still has a job. The older waiter then relates to the old man and wonders whether he actually has anything worthwhile. This leads the waiter to the conclusion that there may be nothing, such as no god, which for many people provides a purpose to their life. "Hail nothing full of nothing, nothing is with thee." Having nothing to live for creates the fear of "what happens next." If there is no reason to put effort into staying alive since it will all be a waste, then both living and dying mean nothing. Essentially, the older waiter has an epiphany and realizes that life cannot be hurried. The younger waiter unfortunately may never realize that life is precious. The old man understands that he does not have much to live for, if anything, which is why he attempts to cut his life short. However, even though he comes to certain realizations, the older waiter understands that e