In “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” Ernest Hemingway sketches, mainly through dialogue and interior monologue, the sentiments of three men in the modern world in which Hemingway lived. As in many of his other stories, his purpose is not to render individual thoughts and feelings, but to give “us the lineaments of [his] time and the suggestion of the human condition in any time” (Shaw 81). Hemingway makes his philosophical vision remarkably explicit in this story when compared to his other short stories. This vision is a mixture of nihilism and stoicism mostly impersonated by the older waiter, but also by the old man. The younger waiter can be seen as their opposite, though not a complete opposite. First we need to explain why it is Hemingway's vision that is voiced by the older waiter. There are two important clues for this. The first is that the older waiter's vision on 'nada' can be found in many of his short stories, from the Nick Adams stories to “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” and “The Snows of Kilimanjaro”. “Thus 'A Clean Well-lighted Place' [...] is something of a summary statement of this recurrent theme”, as Hoffman notes (172). Even more relevant here is that the characters with a vision comparable to that of the old waiter, though very subtle, always put in a positive light. This makes it very likely that Hemingway agreed with this world-view. The second clue is the famous parody of the Lord's Prayer and the Hail Mary. As Shaw notes: “The older waiter, in whose mind the parody is revolving, seems out of character in this bitter philosophic rumination. It is difficult to resist the conclusion that Hemingway is in his own person offering editorial comment” (81). Second, there are the world-views expressed in “A Clean Well-Lighted Place” themselves. In the introduction has already been mentioned that it constitutes partly of nihilism. Since nihilism is a dubious term that covers many philosophies, it is important to make clear what is meant in this context. In 'A Clean Well-Lighted Place' Nietzsche's concept of nihilism is being displayed: Nietzsche described his lifelong philosophical project as 'the revaluation of all values' [...]. Nietzsche [thought] that traditional religion had been discredited by advances in the natural and physical sciences, and as transcendent standards of truth disappeared, so logically must all moral and ethical systems depending on some