A Clean Well-Lighted Place

Questions

1. Why do the waiters observe the old man?
2. What does one waiter say the old man tried to do last week?
3. What do the waiters wonder when they see the soldier and the girl?
4. What does the waiter say about the old man as he pours him a drink?
5. Who stopped the old man from killing himself?
6. Why does the impatient waiter want to go home?
7. What happens when the old man asks for another brandy?
8. How does the older waiter poke fun at the younger waiter?
9. What's the only thing the older waiter has in his life?
10. Where does the older waiter walk when the cafe closes?
11. Why's light necessary in the ideal cafe?
12. Why doesn't the bar fit into the waiter's criteria?
13. What will the waiter do when he gets home?

Answers

1. They're making sure he doesn't walk out without paying.
2. Commit suicide
3. If the soldier will get caught by the guard
4. The old man should have just killed himself last week (harsh).
5. His niece
6. To see his wife
7. The impatient waiter says no and sends him home.
8. He asks if the younger waiter isn't worried about getting home earlier than expected.
9. Work
10. Through the streets
11. If there's no light it's easy to get bogged down in the nothingness of a meaningless life.
12. It isn't clean.
13. Stay up all night alone