Darkness in
this short story symbolizes despair. It is first associated with the deaf old man who stays late
at the well-lit cafe drinking. He sits
in the shadow the
leaves of the tree made against the electric light.
We
learn that he recently tried to commit suicide by hanging himself but that his niece cut him
down.
The darkness outside the clean, bright cafe is associated with the
chaos and meaninglessness that the light and order of the cafe keeps at bay. The older waiter
associates the darkness with "nada." In Spanish, nada means nothing. The older waiter
uses the word to signify inner emptiness or meaninglessness, a sense of despair.
The older waiter therefore praises the orderliness, light, and cleanliness of his cafe,
as well as the fact it offers seating, something the brightly lit bars don't. All of these
features, taken together, represent a humane way of living, a contrast to the nada and darkness
without.
While the younger waiter is impatient with the deaf old man for
lingering when he wants to get home to his wife, the older waiter, who has experienced nada,
understands why he stays. He feels compassion towards him and understands that the little things
in life, such as the safe haven a comfortable, well-lit cafe offers, are not trivial in a dark,
uncertain world.
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