Ensayo De Ceguera

Plot: In the second half of the novel, the main characters still find themselves in the quarantined mental hospital, with the overall conditions having deteriorated to the absolute worst. A few days after the original group of seven arrived, the mental hospital received 200 blind inmates and so it reached maximum capacity. Among the new arrivals was the man with the gun, a ruthless tyrant in possession of a gun. The man with the gun soon creates his own gang of armed hoodlums and terrorises the rest of the inmates by beating them and demanding payment to receive food rations, which they always steal. The rest of the residents at the mental hospital decide to comply with the armed gang and give them all of their valuables so as to receive food. For a few days, the gang gives them food, however after wanting more payment and not receiving any due to the fact that everyone had given them all of their valuables, the gang decides that they now want women. At first the rest of the internees are hesitant and believe that it is ridiculous that they should now give up women to receive food. The soldiers guarding on the outside do not intervene with anything that goes on inside the mental hospital as they believe that if the blind internees end up killing themselves, it will be for the better. For a few days, the other internees do not comply to the requests of the armed gang, however after hunger begins to affect everyone, seven women decide to go as payment. Among the seven women are the girl with the dark sunglasses and the doctor’s wife who is still the only internee with sight. After being raped, one of the seven women dies and a proper burial is made for her.

One week passes before the armed gang decides that they now want women again or they will not receive food. After little hesitation due to hunger, 15 different women decide to go as payment. While these women are being raped, they doctor’s wife decides that she had enough of the armed gang, and she decides to grab a pair of scissors which she had with plans of killing the man with the gun. After successfully killing the man with the gun, she takes all of the 15 women who were being raped and makes a quick escape to the other side of the mental hospital. After the death of their leader, the armed hoodlums become disorganized and stop terrorising the rest of the internees. One day after the death of the man with the gun, one of the women who got raped decides to set fire to the section of the mental hospital which houses the armed gang. After successfully setting fire to the section of the armed gang, the fire soon spreads to the entire mental hospital and only a few blind internees are able to escape, mostly comprising of the first group that had arrived along with an old man with a black eye patch. After realising that all of the guarding soldiers were gone, the group of blind internees that survived decide to head for the home of the doctor. On their journey to his home, the group which comprises of the doctor, the doctor’s wife, the old man with the eye patch, the girl with the dark sunglasses, the boy with the squint, the first blind man and the wife of the first blind man find that much of society has broken down after everyone went blind. All of the residents of the city travel in groups searching for food and no other people who are immune to the disease have been found. After finding and staying in the doctor’s home for a few days, the group soon starts to inexplicably regain their sight along with the rest of the city. After contemplating the course of events which had transpired over the last few months, the doctor believes that were always blind and that the “White sickness” is what allowed everyone to finally see.

Characters:

Doctor’s wife: The doctors wife continues to be guiding figure for the other main characters in the novel. As the conditions at the mental hospital began to deteriorate, the doctor’s wife began to play a more important role in the group of original internees. She is still very kind and caring for other characters, however she is often capable of accomplishing difficult tasks for the greater good, such as killing the man with the gun. Throughout the entire novel she retains her sight, and so she is the only character who has witnessed all of the horrors which the “white sickness” has caused.

Doctor: Even though the doctor still continues to be the leader and organizer of many of the internees at the mental hospital, his role soon starts to diminish as the population at the quarantined hospital begins to grow beyond control. The little stability which he can impose over his area of the mental hospital is mosty due to the help of his wife who is not blind.

The Girl with the Dark Sunglasses: The girl with the dark sunglasses continues to demonstrate that she is a compassionate and kind woman as she takes care of the boy with the squint until the end of the novel.

The Man with the Gun: A ruthless tyrant who will stop at nothing to get what he wants, the man with the gun is an internee who creates his own gang of armed hoodlums. Him and his gang begin to terrorise the other internees by stealing their food, beating other residents and raping the woman.

Themes:

The revelation of identity: At the end of the novel, the doctor states that people were always blind and the “white sickness” is what finally allowed them to see. What he meant by this is that the epidemic of blindness and the course of events which occurred afterwards brought out the best and worst qualities in people. It revealed what true human nature was like and so it revealed what each person’s character was truly like.

Destiny: The theme of destiny continues to play a big role in the novel, as the characters who met in the first few pages of the novel manage to stay together for the entire length of their journeys. Their destinies end up intertwining in a way in which would make so close that would virtually become family.

Human Nature: The true human nature of everyone is soon revealed as the conditions reach the absolute lowest at the quarantined hospital. With the lack of food and hygiene, many people resort to terrorising and stealing, showing that many humans are capable of doing terrible things simply to survive.

Double Entry Journal

Quotation #1: “we were already blind the moment we turned blind, fear struck us blind, fear will keep us blind”(129)

Analysis: This quote is stated by the girls with the dark sunglasses as she is recounting how she became blind. This quote can relate to the loss of identity, as fear is what caused to people to lose their identity in the past and fear is what is causing people to lose their identity in the present. An example would be the soldiers guarding the mental hospital and their inhuman treatment of the internees. The reason for why they are treating them so badly is out of fear, and in a sense they have become blinded by fear.

Quotation #2: “all things considered, there is nothing in this world that belongs to us in an absolute sense, another all too transparent truth” (143)

Analysis: This quote is told by the doctor after they are forced to provide payment to the armed hoodlums in exchange for food. The rest of the inmates were very hesitant to provide their valuables, as they believed that they should fight for their food, however this idea was soon rejected after it became known that the leader of the armed gang was in possession of a gun. This passage shows a loss of identity, as the doctor believes that nothing can truly belong to them in the world of the blind. For as long the “white sickness” continues to affect the internees, they will not be able to truly own anything which they can call their own, as they cannot even see what truly belongs to them.

Quotation #3: “After a week, the blind hoodlums sent a message saying that they wanted women.” (166)

Analysis: This passage relates to what the armed gang said after they wanted more payment for food. In exchange for giving the other internees some food, the armed hoodlums wanted to receive women as payment, since no one had any valuables left with them. This quote shows the complete loss of humanity within the mental hospital, and therefore the complete loss of identity. This is the absolute lowest point which the hoodlums could reach, and with the soldiers refusing to intervene, the situation only became worse. This goes to show that there is no longer any humanity left within the mental hospital.

Quotation #4: “having lost the light of their eyes, even lost the guiding spirit of respect” (166)

Analysis: This passage is told by one of the internees who is being forced to give up his valuables in exchange for food. At this point, the armed gang has taken over the mental hospital and everyone is forced to do what they say or else be subject to brutal beatings. This quote demonstrates how blindness has caused the armed hoodlums to lose their identity as they no longer have any respect for other human beings. The blindness has caused them to lose their guiding spirit of respect, which is why they no longer act humanely or in a respectful manner towards others.

Quotation #5: “Not only the men will go, but also the women, we shall return to that place where they humiliated us so that none of that humiliation may remain, so that we might rid ourselves of it in the same way that we spat out what they ejaculated into our mouths” (197)

Quotation #6: “in desperation she got under the first bed, ran the lighter along the mattress, here, there, then suddenly the flames multiplied, transformed themselves into one great curtain of fire” (212)

Analysis: One of the women who was raped by the hoodlums is the one stating this quote. After having experienced the horros of rape, the woman decided to light the entire mental hospital on fire, specifically the area where the armed gang slept. This shows that the woman wanted revenge and she wanted to punish those who had abused her. This can show a regaining of identity as the woman is trying to take back some of her dignity.

Analysis: This quote is stated by the doctor’s wife who says that the men and women of the mental hospital should band together and fight against the armed hoodlums. As both the doctor’s wife and six other women were raped by the armed hoodlums, she wants everyone to return to where they were raped and fight them so as to rid themselves of the humiliation which they received. This can show a regaining of identity, as the doctor’s wife want to take back her dignity after it was forcefully taken from her by the armed hoodlums.

Quotation #7: “The gate is wide open, the madmen escape” (216)

Analysis: This occurs after the blind internees escape the mental hospital. As they had not known that the guarding soldiers were no longer there, they were surprised when they approached the gate to the hospital and no one said anything. When the doctor’s wife stated that she did not see any guards, all of the surviving blind internees immediately escaped the compound. As their freedom was finally obtained again, this can represent their regaining of identity.

Quotation #8: “It is not only the eyes of some of these inmates that are blind, their understanding is also clouded” (220)

Analysis: This passage is said by the doctor’s wife after the mental hospital is set on fire and collapses. Some of the internees who escaped the fire want to stay in the ruins of the mental hospital as they believe that help will eventually come to them. This can show a loss of identity on behalf of the blind internees who want to stay behind at the mental hospital despite all of the horrible events which occurred there. This shows that they no longer have a true sense of home or belonging and they simply want to remain wherever they believe food will be brought to them. Even though all of the guarding soldiers have left and they have the opportunity to search

for their families in the city, some of the internees decide to stay. That is why this can be considered a loss of identity.

Quotation #9: “Why don’t you live in your own house, Because I no longer know where it is” (222)

Analysis: This passage is stated by a blind passerby which the main group of main characters encounter during their journey in the city. The blind passerby states that almost noone lives in their own homes anyomore as everyone has gone blind. Most people simply travel from house to house, looking for food and shelter. This can show the general population has lost their identity as noone even knows where they live anymore. There is no more sense of home or belonging left in the world and people simply wander for no purpose other than to survive.

Quotation #10: “we soon became aware that we, the blind, in a manner of speaking, have practically nothing we may call our own” (223)

Analysis: This passage was told by the doctor’s wife and she and her group had left the mental hospital. As they were traveling through the city, they realized that they had not taken anything with them that belonged to them. The few possessions which they had were left at the mental hospital, and before then, they had brought very few possessions with them to the quarantined hospital. This can show an absence of identity, as none of the former blind internees have anything which they can truly call their own. None of them even know how to get to their homes without sight and so this further shows that they have lost some of their identity after their experience in the mental hospital.

Quotation #11: “let’s be glad of our good fortune at still having a pair of seeing eyes with us here, the last pair left, if they are extinguished one day, I don’t even want to think about it, then the thread which links us to that human mankind would be broken, it will be as if we were to separate from each other in space, forever, equally blind.” (305)

Analysis: This passage is said by a blind writer whom the group of main characters meet along their journey in the city. The blind writer says that he is handwriting his experience with the “white sickness” so as to maintain the essence of humanity, as he believes that the history of this disease should be recorded, even if no one in the future will be able to read it. After realizing that the doctor’s wife is not blind, the writer states how important it is that she retain her sight. This quote can show both a loss and regaining of identity, as the sight of the doctor’s wife is one of the few things left in the world that is holding humanity together, even if it is in a small sense. If the doctor’s wife were to simply go blind, then that would mean the complete loss of identity of humanity as there would be no guiding figure for anyone and therefore no purpose for life.

Quotation #12: “He was irritated and, about to utter a harsh reply, he opened his eyes and saw” (322)

Analysis: This passage is told by the first blind man after he had just regained his sight. He is the first person to regain his sight, and he was both surpised and happy about it. This quote can demonstrate a journey, as it shows that after all the trials and adversity which the first blind man had to face, he had finally gotten his vision back. This occurs at the end of the novel, and after him, all of the other main characters begin to regain their sight as well.

Quotation #13: “I don’t think we did go blind, I think we are blind, Blind but seeing, Blind people who can see, but do not see.” (326)

Analysis: This is the last statement by the doctor in the novel. He says this after everyone started to regain their sight and he contemplated how the “white sickness” had affected everyone’s life. The doctor believes that the “white sickness” did not really make them blind as they were actually blind all along. The “white sickness” brought out the best and worst qualities in every person and so the true identity of each person was not really lost but revealed because of the “white sickness”. By being quarantined in the mental hospital, the internees were forced to everything they could in order to survive. With not authority, government or real sense of stability, the mental hospital descended into madness and the real identity of the internees was revealed. All it took was the loss of sight for people to understand what their own character was truly like.

Quotation #14: “Then she lifted her head up to the sky and saw everything white, It is my turn, she thought. Fear made her quickly lower her eyes. The city was still there.” (326)

Analysis: This is the last phrase in the novel. It is said by the doctor’s wife as she looking at the city and realizing that everyone is beginning to regain their sight. As she had retained her sight during the entire length of the novel, the doctor’s wife now believed that she would lose her own sight. This however was not the case as the last line states, “The city was still there.” This passage can represent the journey which the doctor’s wife underwent and all of the events which she saw, both good and bad. Even though she wanted to be blind several times so as to not have to witness the horrors of the mental hospital, she never lost sight of who she was and what her purpose was. Her purpose being to guide all those who had been affected by the “white sickness” in the right direction.

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