In Jose Saramagos, Blindness, a group of seven strangers cross paths and band together when an epidemic of white blindness strikes the country. Through their journey all seven characters change for the better and some, like the girl with the dark glasses changed more that the rest. With this change, each of these peoples limits is tested both physically and emotionally. Yet, in the end they all come together and are able to survive by dealing with their situation. The change in the girl with the dark glasses and the other six strangers contribute to the meaning of the novel because all of these people prove that in a time of crisis people put away their differences and band together for a common cause.
When a sudden bout to blindness strikes the country, people everywhere are changed especially a group of seven strangers. These seven people were brought together as they were the first to go blind and were placed into quarantine. In this situation they realize that their sudden onset of blindness has changed who they are when they introduce themselves not by name but by appearance or profession. They introduce themselves and become known as the Doctor, the Doctors wife, the boy with the squint, the girl with the dark glasses, the first blind man, the first blind mans wife, and the old man with the eye patch. The Doctors wife notices this as she thinks to herself, He didnt give his name, he too knows that names are of no importance here( 59). One change that develops among the characters, is their will to do whatever it takes to survive. As a group of thugs steal all of the food their leader demanded that, unless you bring us women, you dont eat (167). Surprisingly the men and women all agree that the women will go though with this act in order to survive. Now acting and cooperating as a team these seven friends agree upon all important decisions together. Another change that develops is the kindness that they express towards complete strangers. When the Doctors wife leads the first blind man and his wife back to their home, they find another family living there. Yet, the blind man doesnt kick them out but lets them live their out of the kindness of his heart. Another change and realization occurs after the Doctors wife has just been raped and is witnessing her friends being raped. She grabs a pair of scissors that she had been hiding and kills the leader of the thugs by taking them and digging them deep into the blind mans throat (189) . She finds that she has completely changed because in a normal life situation killing someone would never have even crossed her mind. This caused the Doctors wife to realize what she and others are truly capable of especially in a time of crisis.
Even though all of the characters dramatically changed the one who changed the most was the girl with the dark glasses. This girl had a troubled passed as she was viewed as prostitute who really didnt give a care in the world for anything. In the beginning of her ordeal she finds herself acting like she never has before as she takes up the role of mother to the boy with the squint. She shares her food with him and they sleep next to each other during the night . Whenever he is upset she is able to comfort him and tells him that everything will be alright. The perception of love also changes as the girl with the dark glasses falls in love with the man with the eye patch. He admits to her that The two come to realize that through theyve never seen each other and are years in age apart, that personality is all that matters. This enables the two to realize that looks truly dont matter and that a person should be loved for who they are on the inside. She comes to be a prominent female figure along with the Doctors wife whom she looks up to due to her strong optimism and wisdom. The girl with the dark glasses regained her sight with the realization of what she had been choosing to do with her life. She became responsible she looked after the boy and learned how to take charge of her life through the act of responsibly. She also realized what true love is and that it doesnt matter what a person looks like on the outside. Her opinion about love changed the day the old man admitted that, the man I am loves the woman you are (306). The girl with the dark glasses changed the most out of all of the seven protagonists in the novel.
The change in the seven people contributed to the meaning of the novel which is that in a time of crisis people will band together no matter what their differences and fight for the same cause. In the situation of blindness the friends came together so that they would be able to survive, attain food, and keep their minds emotionally intact. At the very end of the novel, the doctor tells his wife: "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." This contributes to the significance of the novel as the Doctor basically says that their current blindness was a way of showing society their lack of realizing whats important in life. They are merely blinded by their own stupidity and selfish ways when it comes to everyday perceptions such as peoples looks, social standing, and behaviors. Many of these problems seem to be overcome as the six blind people in the group regain their sight. When their sight is restored it seems as though its because they have each learned many valuable lessons. They all learned that profession, money status, and names dont matter. They learned that they are very much alike in their wants and desires which happen to be happiness and love. They began to judge people based of who a person is on the inside and what they can bring to the table in a time of crisis. They learned that differences are okay because with difference comes skill and other ideas and ways of doing things. The seven once strangers and now friends learned a lot from each other and regained their sight because they had learned their lesson to not judge people because theyre different.
Overall, in Jose Saramagos, Blindness, the seven strangers were able to put aside their differences and fight to escape the blind asylum, care for each other, and learn to cooperate and survive all while blind. Many characters in the novel where changed especially the girl with the dark glasses. This change in all seven protagonists enabled one to realize that blindness was significant to the meaning of the work. This blindness was a direct representation of people being unable to view society as they should but of people viewing society through incorrect lenses. Each of these peoples perspective on life, love, and status was changed as they were forced to live in horrendous living conditions. They have done the dirtiest, ugliest, most repulsive things together (306) and everyone was able to agree upon that. This agreement in opinion enabled the seven strangers to have one primary thing in common. When they were all together and living completely the same exact life style they truly were able to know one another and have things in common. In the end these strangers were given back their sight because they learned many lessons on how life should be viewed and changed their ways for the better.
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