If you were put in charge of a movie production about a person with blindness, what type of perceptions would you want to make sure are portrayed in your movie? What myths could you debunk? What stereotypes would you want to make sure to avoid? The importance of using their other senses to “see” what the world looks like. Those of us who can see are not aware of the importance of smell, and touch. We see with our eyes, while blind people see with their hands, ears, nose, etc. Blind people are not always unable to see everything. They can feel when the lights go lower, or the sun shines…
For hundreds of years, animals have been used for our entertainment. Although most people have been to the circus sometime in their lives, they do not think about what goes on behind the scenes. When you think of the circus; you think of having a good time, with plenty of excitement. You think of goofy clowns, acrobats and popcorn. You rarely think about what happens when the show is over. But for some the show never ends. Chimpanzees and other animals used for our entertainment are usually abused and mistreated.…
In “How to Become Batman” Lulu Miller and Alex Spiegel discuss the common sense assumptions regarding blindness. This podcast uses several varieties of scientific research and findings in order to prove whether our expectations can have an effect on the blind society. Throughout their podcast, Alex Spiegel and Lulu Miller introduce characters whom share their experiences and research regarding “expectations and their effects on people”. The purpose of this podcast is to investigate the question, “Can our expectations of what a person can or cannot do alter what they can do physically?”. However, the emphasis is more on whether our expectations can make a blind person finally see.…
How was your understanding of cultural and contextual considerations of the work developed through the interactive oral?…
I found Mair’s essay “On Being Cripple” surprisingly fun to read. Given the subject matter, I didn’t think it would be fun to read. The title alone not only sounds depressing, but it also creates unpleasant feelings within me. I feel sadness, pity, and uncomfortable just to name a few emotions. Mairs invoked pathos just by the title alone. Nancy Mairs was very effective in sharing what it was like to have a disability. The struggles that she has had to endure every day and how she copes with the fact that her life will never be the same as it once was.…
I was split up from my brother, the only family I had left, when we were put into different groups. I was with the women; he was with the men. I cried that day, not knowing if or when I would ever see my brother again, and the thought of being alone in this horrific place. We waited in the hot sun for what seemed like hours, but finally we were let in a room where we showered and then guided to a set of chairs lined up in a row. There we sat and had our hair forcefully cut off from our scalp. That was the final piece of myself and my past I had left, and it was gone in a matter of minutes. I was told to put on the rags in front of me and…
Of Mice and Men displays a lot of characters with a variety of impairments. These impairments…
In Jorge Luis Borges’ piece from Ficciones, “Blindness” and Annie Dillard’s piece from Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, “Seeing”, we read writers’ perspectices on their own blindness. The writers contradict the common fallacies our culture has about blindness with their own personal experiences. Although both writers portray blindness in a positive light, each writer uses his disability to enhance his lives differently. Borges depicts his loss of sight as an opportunity to learn new things about life and himself, while Dillard uses her blindness as a way to better appreciate nature.…
When I first read the essay, I, as a male, began to question some of my motives. Eden provides such in depth emotions and feelings that occur to women during sex, that it makes men second guess themselves. She essentially is trying to help her argument by hoping that men will realize that sex is emotionally damaging and shouldn't be carried about so lightly. She indirectly tells men how they are not helping the cause, and she almost conveys that men are to blame when she notes that the men just pack up, leave, and head for the next girl in line. And it is this indirect message that makes her essay unique. The approach is odd, because she risks losing her male audience. But in essence, that doesn't matter since she is mainly addressing women to not fall into the casual sex trap. However, for those males that continue following what Eden is saying, they gain a woman's view that would never just come out and is now laid out for them to understand. And by having men understand her, Eden makes her goal more attainable. By putting sex in perspective, she adequately forces men to think about their actions and how they treat…
Chapter 22 of How to Read Literature Like a Professor discusses the symbolism and meaning behind blindness. Isaac is slowly losing his sight due to his cancer, and he found his main source of support in his significant other, Monica, who ends their relationship and leaves him after he ultimately goes completely blind. Isaac is of course heartbroken, but after venting out his emotions through egging Monica’s house, he decided to not let his blindness become a burden on himself. Foster discusses the idea that “ When literal blindness… is introduced into a story, it is nearly always the case that figurative seeing and blindness are at work,” (Foster, 212) - a concept that definitely applied to Isaac’s case. Isaac with almost obsessed over his former girlfriend, and after she left he came to the realization that she was not worthy enough to continue to be a figure in his life. His blindness became a test, not only to him but to those around him; only the people who truly cared about him and were willing to support him in his new lifestyle deserve to be a part of his life. Ultimately, blindness in a novel can lead to a character’s ability to figuratively see who they and the people around them really are for the first…
Coincidentally, another one of our main characters is blind: a young Parisian girl named Marie-Laure. She appeared with Werner in what is perhaps the earliest scene to have been drafted by Doerr in the 10 years it took him to write this book: a scene in which a boy sits in the dark, and, over the radio, comes the voice of a girl reading a story to…
When growing up with a big and spread out family, home life tends to be a little erratic. Since my mother was not the best of children, she had a few boyfriends in her time. She had my sister when she was six-teen, and my brother and I when she was around twenty. My biological father supported her until they both decided that they needed to go their separate ways, and she then married my step father. My family at the time consisted of my parents, my six-teen year old sister, my twin brother, and myself at age eleven. I had always thought of my family as pretty close to perfect until people started to talk. I first learned of this by my neighbor-friend’s mother, who whispered to her kid about why I had to leave every other weekend to visit my “other” father. I had never before thought of this as a strange idea, so I asked my sister about it. She told me our mother’s story. Once my mother learned of this, she was not upset with me for asking so many questions, and for that I’m glad. I learned more about my mother that day and I respected her for recognizing her past mistakes. Since she had, what I think to be, a pretty messed up life before; she corrected that and raised her children to be respectable people.…
To be blind can mean many things. The effects of those who are not literally blind, but who cannot see through the haze of perspective concepts developed by society, such as the issue of discrimination or social status, are often negative and cause misguided behavioral actions by individuals. Authors, such as Richard Wright, Ralph Ellison, and Toni Morrison, use the motif of blindness that makes their literary characters prejudice, and indicates a lack of understanding which binds them to set fates of death, downfall, and destruction, outlining the effect that divided society has on an individual. In Thomas C. Fosters novel, How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines, he talks about the reasons behind authors purposes of choosing to use blindness as a long lasting motive in their works of literature: “Clearly the author wants to emphasize other levels of sight and blindness beyond the physical.…
The narrators statement at the very beginning of the story explains his own lack of knowledge concerning physical blindness. His lack of knowledge relating to the visitors disability is undeniable, yet he makes it very clear that he is…
In the novel Paradise of the Blind by Duong Thu Huong, the author uses diction from the perspective of Hang to set the foundation of the novel as well as to establish the essential element of Hang’s journey through time and space in relation to her family. Motifs are vital in the novel to draw attention to certain aspects in order to bring out the emotional experiences of Hang’s journey along with her interactions with other characters. Motifs are expressed to portray the influence of cultural aspects on Hang’s emotions and conscience. Imagery, portrayed in the novel is expressed through intense diction as the beautiful landscapes she describes is contradicted with harsh comments that reflect society. As Hang matures from innocence to maturity, it is evident Huong is displaying Hang’s coming of age story through the use of various techniques. In result, Hang becomes aware of herself, her Vietnamese culture, and her family. The author utilizes the techniques of diction, motifs and imagery to interpret the emotional journey Hang experiences through various changes as she discovers herself and is able to find her place in the world resulting in her ultimate acknowledgement that she does not have to abide by expectations of Vietnamese culture and familial obligations.…