The author uses the symbol of darkness to show sad mood. The darkness symbolizes silence, death, and peace which creates a sad mood. The darkness symbolizes silence which comes before death, before you are about to die it's quiet. It's silent because in the poem “In Praise of Darkness” because he is all alone. The main character is all alone because he is old, and everyone he knows is dead. “The animal is dead or almost dead”(Borges 340), he compares animals to his friends, he says most of them are dead or almost dead. Since he is all alone he uses his last bit of time he has left to read. He is dying and can barely read so he tries to remember. “I have read only a few” (Borges 340), he has only read a few books and he tries to remember
