Thomas Schell Sr. and his wife organized their apartment into areas labeled “something” and other areas labeled “nothing.” Thomas had been in love with his wife’s sister, and the two are both mourning her loss when they set up their apartment. The intent of labeling spaces and things as something or nothing was to make everything “forever fixed” (111). This action shows how the couple was in a way trying to fix their emotions. It was as if they were trying to sort out their emotions and their trauma into neatly labeled and distinctive boxes.

However, this labeling system did not work, and it did not help the couple sort out their emotions or their relationship’s issues. The reader learns that this system failed because not everything in life can be separated. Emotions will overlap each other, and unidentifiable feelings can impact a person for many years. Often times things that seem like “nothing” may have a significant effect on people.

This concept is similar to the notion of seeing things as black and white. Sometimes there is no identifiable meaning in an event or an action or a space. It can be difficult to discern the reasons for certain events or feelings. Yet ultimately, this ambiguous complexity to human life is what makes it so unique.