Theme Of Nada In A Clean Well-Lighted Place

In Ernest Hemingway’s short story, “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place,” the term nada, meaning nothing in Spanish, is used repeatedly with great significance. Nada is used as more than nothing in this short story. At first, this story is simple, but after digging deeper the reader can begin to discover the essence of nada in “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place.” The reader can depict how nada is portrayed in all of the three characters and how this nothing plays out in Hemingway’s life. The older waiter speaks the theme of nada for the author, Hemingway, in “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” (Hoffman 91). Nothing is a theme that is continually mentioned in Hemingway’s short stories, making it an important aspect of his own life (Hoffman 93). The older waiter has found the meaning of nothing, and he is the one who knows how to respond to nada (Hoffman 100). It is pointed out that the nada the older waiter talks about is, in fact, “Something.” It is “a Something called

The older waiter can be referred to as a “materialist” because of his clear view of nothing (Bennett 75). A “materialist” can be defined as one who believes that there is only one “reality” and gives that “reality” the “priority” in his or her life (Bennett 74). The older waiter knows that there is “nothing” outside of the materials in this world. Since there nothing outside of these materials, a man should not depend on anything because everything is temporary (77). Life is temporary; it “is a net of illusions” (Bennett 75). The title of this short story, “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place,” is significant in correlation to nada. The older waiter has found the meaning to nada, and that is why his response to it is through “a clean, well-lighted place” (Hoffman 94). As the older says, “I am one of those who like to stay late at the café…With all those who need a light for the night” (Hemingway