What does blindness symbolize in literature

Without cookies your experience may not be seamless. Institutional Login. LOG IN. Mosaic: a journal for the interdisciplinary study of literature. When the truth finally comes to light another use of language that suggests sight in the metaphorical sense , Oedipus is so distraught that he blinds himself.

But he has come to earn favor in the eyes of the gods, and he dies a respectable death. Finally, Oedipus has developed a kind of vision that he never had while he actually had use of his eyes. Hannah graduated summa cum laude with a degree in English and double minors in Professional Writing and Creative Writing. She grew up reading books like Harry Potter and His Dark Materials and has always carried a passion for fiction.

However, Hannah transitioned to non-fiction writing when she started her travel website in and now enjoys sharing travel guides and trying to inspire others to see the world. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Skip to content. Posted by Hannah Aster Apr 4, Blindness in Literature Is Usually Symbolic. Read the rest of the world's best book summary and analysis of Thomas C.

Gloucester is equally blind when it comes to confirming the difference between his loyal, that would be Edgar, and his disloyal, that would be Edmund, son. Gloucester is manipulated by Edmund, the malicious offspring of his, to believe that his loyal son actually wants him dead; so he is tricked exactly as Lear to appreciate and estimate the loyal to be the disloyal.

More contemporary literary works, especially American ones, also provide symbolic functions of blindness, but this time in different aspects. A turn to social unrest and problematizations is raised as far as racial issues and injustice are concerned in American themes, motifs and symbols, so it was inevitable not to change the symbolism of blindness in a great extent.

Dalton is the blind character of this novel. On a symbolic level, this set of circumstances serves as a metaphor for the vicious circle of racism in American society; Mrs. Wright echoes Mrs.

Indeed, Bigger later realizes that, in a sense, even he has been blind, unable to see whites as individuals rather than a single oppressive mass.