Blindness

Blindness

By: Jose Saramago

When defining the word blindness, it can be interpreted in various ways. Either it can be explained as sightless, or it can be carefully deciphered as having a more complex in-depth analysis. In the novel Blindness, Jose Saramago depicts and demonstrates how in an instant your right to see can be taken in an instant. However, in this novel, blindness is metaphorically related to 'seeing' the truth beyond our own bias opinions.

Saramago's novel clearly illustrates themes that describe the importance of the awareness of others, in terms of feeling oppressed by fear, lack of trust, dehumanization, and segregation. He describes in full detail the importance of the government's involvement in the lives of the blind victims, which allows the reader to understand and recognize our own societal misfortunes in health care, as well as other world problems. For example, our government allows Hispanic women to be eligible for "Medicaid or state-sponsored child health insurance programs, yet many Hispanic American families fear that enrolling family members in such plans could be used against them when they apply for citizenship" (Minority Women's Health). Not only are Hispanic Americans afraid of getting ill while without health care, but they also fear that having health insurance could devastate their chances of acquiring a citizenship. Moreover, the government is obviously not seeing the pain and suffering through the eyes of the less fortunate, and in turn robs them of their freedom and vulnerability for being in a lower class.

In Saramago's novel, the government's commands, instant decisions, and fears about the blind epidemic is what the blind infected, vulnerable characters are terrified about the most. "Look here, blind man, let me tell you something, either the two of you get back to where you came from, or you'll be shot [...] they're terrified and are only obeying orders" (63). With a large number of people going blind quickly and with no apparent cause, public health officials' panic and the blind internees are not only afraid for their lives in terms of their sickness, but they are also terrified of the government's command to shoot and kill the infected internees. The most important things in life is not power and the ability to instill fear on others, it is compassion, love, and understanding. Without these three qualities, we become blind to others' feelings, and dismiss ever truly feeling sympathy for another person.

Trust is another issue that is important when thinking about people who surround and interact with you on a regular basis, as well as those you encounter as a minor acquaintance. For instance, "Hispanic women are more likely to be dissatisfied if they feel they have been treated badly by providers and staff and if they do not trust doctors" (Guendelman, Wagner 118). If the patient does not feel a sense of hospitality and see a welcoming smile, it discourages the patient to visit the physician because they feel they are not getting the right medical attention, and tend to be sicker. In addition, "the sicker individual risk exposure to more insults, and this leads them to pull back from the health care system" (119). In a physician/ patient relationship there needs to be a balance between actually caring and giving your patients the attention and satisfaction that they deserve. Some physicians take advantage of their patient's vulnerability of being sick by pushing them aside, and worrying more about the fastest way to make money. However, the physician then loses another patient because of greed.

Saramago represents trust in a very similar manor, yet instead he describes a man who is suddenly overcome with a "white blindness" while stopped at a red light. He explains how an onlooker has offered to drive the blind man home, and takes advantage of the frantic man's situation by stealing his car, "that good soul, has taken our car [...] He took advantage of your confusion and distressed and robbed us" (11). Just as physicians' take advantage of their patients in their time of weakness, Saramago describes how some people only see their needs as a priority, and are blind to the obvious truth that 'what goes around, comes around.'

The third characteristic that Saramago's novel has in relation to our current world news is the dehumanization that his characters felt. Many times when people feel worthless and insecure with their actions and feelings, it is because they are "stuck" and do not know how to escape the unspeakable torture that is occurring. Domestic violence is one example that demonstrates dehumanization in out society. In Moscow a vast amount of women are suffering because of their husband's need to feel like a "man."

"According to the Interior Ministry, in Russia there are up to 4 million domestic "disturbances" (to put it mildly). Each year there are up to 3500 domestic homicides [...] Moreover, only one-fifth to one-seventh of all battered women receive any medical assistance" (Nadezhdina), not only do these women fear for their lives, they are also not getting the right medical attention that they need in order to survive. To illustrate this, the Courier-Journal Louisville, Kentucky printed an article stating that even though a woman's boyfriend verbally and physically abused her, the Kentucky Supreme Court refused the domestic violence order because the couple did not live together. "Wiley alleged that Barnett had, among other things, banged on her car window, threatened to kill her and tailed her car "in a reckless manner" from Frankfort to Lexington [...] But the construction cannot be unreasonable," Johnstone wrote.