Hemingway's "A Clean Well-Lighted Place": The Concept Of Nada

Part I of Essay
In Ernest Hemingway's short story, “A Clean Well-Lighted Place”, the concept of nada is the central and most important theme. As described by Carlos Baker, Nada is “a Something called Nothing which is so huge, terrible, overbearing, inevitable, and omnipresent that, once ....

Part II of Essay
.... isn't enough to combat the nada. It is not even a place but an artificial, man-made building that tries to fight against this real idea of nada. If one has the internal qualities, cleanliness and inner vision, they can cope with the nothingness even outside of the cafe. The old waiter is a prime example. At times the old man lacks these qualities thus not being able to cope with the darkness. On the other hand, the young waiter has no concept of this idea thus making him not even realize how powerful it can be. The old waiter is the most i ....