clean well lighted
...has distinct limitations” and therefore, the light “ is not sufficient to combat the darkness.” Even with the light that the café does provide for a short period of time before closing, it is still consumed by the “shadow the leaves of the tree made against the electric light,” and by the darkness of the night that has swallowed up all the rest of the world just outside its walls. The “darkness” is inescapable, which is symbolic of the way “nada” inevitably prevails and dominates the world. The “light” is symbolic of a special kind of vision. It is the ability to see through the “darkness” and stay clear headed with a complete lack of illusion. This way one is able to get a grip on the existence of “nada” which is everywhere. “With cleanness and light, then, physical locale is irrelevant. Whoever manages to internalize these qualities carries the clean, well-lighted place with him, even into the very teeth of the darkness. The degree to which the Hemingway character can develop and maintain this perspective determines his succuss (or lack thereof) in dealing with the Void” (Hoffman 177). The true hero is the one that succeeds by not only acknowledging “nada,” but also achieving the clean, well-lighted place. Two of the main characters, old man and young waiter, are unable to achieve such status. Through his inability to comprehend his partner’s use of the word “nothing,” it becomes evident that the young waiter lacks the “light” and doesn’t not acknowledge “nada.” He lacks the vision necessary to see nada and therefore, can hardly deal with it. To him “nothing” refers to lack of material satisfaction. He is so blinded by his ignorance and “ ‘confidence,’ characterized by a lack of feeling and, therefore, a lack of insight” (Bennett 49), that he’s unable to see that the material aspects of the old man’s life, such as his wealth, are inadequate support against “nada.” Therefore he cannot possibly understand why the old man, who is aware of “nada,” tries to commit suicide. He says to the older waiter, “I'm not lonely. I have a wife waiting in bed for me." “He is ‘all confidence’: as such, a particular patent example to the old waiter of those who ‘lived in it [nada] and never felt it” (Hoffman 178). He lives in the “darkness,” a pretend world where to him “nada” is nonexistent. However, naive as he is, for an uneasy moment, even he experiences the existence of uncertainty of life and the impact it has on his own life. This is evident when he quickly jumps to defense asking his partner if he’s “trying to insult” him, when the older waiter jokingly asks, “And you? You have no fear of going home before your usual hour?” “The youth’s subsequent grandiose claims to security notwithstanding, the force with which he objects to the merest possibility of marital infidelity clearly underscores the shaky foundations of his ‘confidence’ ” (Hoffman 178). Hoffman suggests that his unrealistic security and self-assurance are routed from the temporary aspects of life: “youth, present employment, sexual prowess, and the assumed loyalty of his wife.” Because the young waiter depends on his transitory material things which he has no control over and lacks “light” and insight, he is very vulnerable and cannot begin to combat against the “darkness” and bring himself to a clear and true existence. Unlike the younger waiter, the old man does posses insight and acknowledges the existence of “nada.” He has experienced the “destructive effects of time, and circumstance on love and the self and directly witnessed ‘nada’ in its death mask” (Hoffman 181). Thus, he is in “despair,” which, according to Bennett, is characterized by depth of feeling and insight into the human condition. Having to have to face these unpleasant discoveries and stay in grips with “nada,” in contrast to the older waiter, he is unable to bring himself to a level of satisfactory. He tries to escape the underlining truth of the existence of “nada” by attempting suicide, excessive drinking, and looking for a “clean, well-lighted place” to spend time in. According to Hoffman, the old man is unable to combat “nada” because, although he understands the importance of the clean well-lighted place, to him it is literally just a “place.” Therefore, he cannot carry the clean, well-lighted place within him, and darkness instead has consumes his “place,” for it is mentioned several times that he sits in the “shadows of the leaves.” “What seems to offer the old man the little balance he possesses, and thus helps keep him alive, is a modicum of internal cleanness and self- possession, his dignity or style. Of course this is an issue of great import in Hemingway in that an ordered personal style is one of the few sources of value in an otherwise meaningless universe” (Hoffman 181). Older waiter, who observes this style, points out, “This old man is clean. He drinks without spelling. Even now, drunk.” “But even this vestige of grace has been compromised over time. While the old man leaves the café ‘with dignity,’ he is ‘walking unsteadily’ ” (Hoffman 181). Thus, the old man is incapable of succeeding in his battle against “nada” and achieving a status of a Hemingway hero. The older waiter is the only main character who not only is able to maintain a clear vision of “nada,” but also to succeed in achieving a “clean, well-lighted place,” granting him the status of a true Hemingway hero. He sympathizes with the old man because he understands his “despair” over “nothing.” He has a broader meaning of this “nothing” he so frequently uses, which reveals his acknowledgment of “nada.” Since the old man “has plenty of money,” Dell ‘Amico insights that the “nothing” is what is left over after money and other material things as such are taken care of. He recognizes that the old man’s despair is caused not by a lack of material things, but by a basic metaphysical principle. Thus he is able...