In this way, he also provides clearer insight into the mind of the older waiter, unlike any other character in the piece. The reader is able to understand each character through their words and actions, but Hemingway is implicit in including the older waiter's direct thoughts. This tells the reader that the specific thoughts of the older waiter in this passage are very significant in conveying Hemingway's message. As the old man sits in a bar looking for a clean, well-lit place, Hemingway reveals his thoughts through a distorted interpretation of the Lord's Prayer: “Our nada who art in nada, nada be thy name thy kingdom nada thy will be nada in nada as it is in nada. Give us this nada our daily nada and nada us our nada as we nada our nada and nada us in nada but deliver us from the nada” (Hemingway 3). This bibliomancy represents the views of Hemingway and many people of the time. Between World War I and World War II, this story was published. During this period there was “a severe economic and spiritual depression” due to the suffering caused by the war (“A clean and well-lit place”). Because of this universal struggle a belief soon developed that became known as existentialism. This belief was basically that God does not exist and, consequently, "life cannot have any intrinsic meaning." By taking the Lord's Prayer from the Bible, which gives purpose to many people, and calling it nothing, Hemingway is demonstrating belief in existentialism and literally saying that life is "nada" or