A Clean Well Lighted Place

All things appear and disappear because of the concurrence of causes and conditions. Nothing ever exists entirely alone; everything is in relation to everything else.
The man in this story I think is not alone. He has nobody but the shadow. He had to live his life alone in the shadows. No words can explain how he feels on the inside. This is a tragedy filled with symbols.
Having to live your life alone is…unexplainably terrible. It’s impossible to feel what the old drunk man is feeling unless you are him. Being him is nothing you would ever want to be in a million years. But the reason that this is a tragedy is because it ends in loss, there’s a tragic fall, the main character is in control, and there is a moral lesson. The old drunk man has nobody in his life and no one to love or to love him back. The older waiter is in control, but does not make good decisions. And the moral lesson is that money doesn’t buy happiness. Even if you have the world at the tip of your fingers, you can still be more happy poor and have a family, rather than being rich and having nobody.
Which leads me into the symbols. The symbols in this story have a lot of feelings and emotions. Such as the café. The café is a place that sticks out like a sore thumb, or a brilliant light in the night sky. The café is the only place that’s not sleeping. It’s a place where some people go when everybody else is asleep. Somewhere, where they know there not the only ones.
Another symbol in this story is the shadows. The shadows stand for fear, death, darkness. If it catches you, it will be a part of you forever. The shadow fallows someone who has no one in their life, and isn’t happy. The shadow never falls asleep or takes naps. Like the old man. It keeps him up at night. Wanting to change his past to a better future.
I feel like this story had a boat load of meaning. Even though it was based on a negative meaning. Having to be alone throughout life is unremarkable. Nothing that you ever want to happen to you in life. So make good choices, and avoid the shadow.