There has been a longstanding dispute among critics that argues the reasons behind such obvious ambiguity in Ernest Hemingway's 'A Clean Well-Lighted Place,' attempting to figure out whether or not the author did so purposely. It has been shown that Hemingway actually intended to include a lot of ambiguity into the story as a means by which to throw off his audience. The part of the story that has come under fire is the …showed first 75 words of 1258 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1258 total…significance our attention to the ambiguity has found in the younger waiter. The range of the parallel is immense--it takes us immeasurably back and forward. For the older waiter's "What are we now?" is not new--it goes back to the emergence of the-human race, when there was no question of "the death of God" or the "meaninglessness" of life.Works citedBennett, Warren. "Character, Irony, and Resolution in 'A Clean, Well-Lighted Place.'" American Literature 42 (1970): 70-79.