The Concept of “Na in

English 243   10/30/08   Ernest Hemingway’s stories are very highly recognized because of several factors. His novels and short stories are very characteristic of modernism, the literary movement he was a part of. Aside from having a very minimalistic style, he also implemented the concept of “nada,” a bleak and dark perspective on life, into many of his works, and this is readily seen in his short story “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place.”   Nada is a critical element within many of Hemingway’s writings and is defined as man’s confrontation with the indifference of the universe, the absence of God, and the lack of purpose, order, meaning, and value (Miles 1). It is characterized by nothingness, the night, and death, or the so-called great nada. Hemingway heroes fear nada, and insomnia is usually a part of their identity, since the night brings nada with it. Alcohol is man’s weapon against the thought of nada because drinking helps the hero to forget the meaninglessness of the world (Warren 45).   The concept of nada is found in “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place.” Considered one of Hemingway's finest works, the short story tells of two waiters working late in a cafe in a small town in Spain where an older, regular customer is drinking alone. The waiters talk about their differing opinions about the old man's situation, revealing a gap in the way generations view loneliness and, in a larger scope, the fear of nothingness.   The old man who sits in this well lit café obviously sits with reason. Maybe even with purpose. He sits because he is alone. Consistent with the attributes of a typical Hemingway character, he drinks to forget his meaninglessness. This old man is not only old, but deaf as well – nothing else by way of description is offered besides these two very telling details, which seem to imply that the old man is at the end of the road with nothing to look forward to. Hemingway is appealing to modernism here in the truest sense by showing this old man’s true colors,... [continues]

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