What is the conflict of a clean well lighted place?

The conflict in Ernest Hemmingway's short story "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place" is one between two ageing waiters about the purpose and meaning of their lives and the nature of existence itself. One of the waiters, who is younger and more optimistic, believes that there is still hope and beauty to be found in life, even in its darkest corners. He takes solace in the warmth and light that their café offers, and finds beauty in the ordinary things that the customers of the café do as they go about their daily lives.

The other waiter, who is older and more pessimistic, feels that life is meaningless and that there is nothing left to hope for. He sees only the darkness and despair that exist in the world, and finds no comfort in the café's light and warmth. He feels that death, rather than life, offers the only true peace.

The two waiters' discussion represents a conflict between the two opposing viewpoints that exist in the world: optimism and pessimism, hope and despair, light and darkness. Hemingway's story highlights the struggle between these two forces and leaves it open to the reader to decide which viewpoint they find most convincing.