... the night. His wife had died." (438) Showing his archetypes towards blind people, by having to state he is blind, and not just an "old friend of his wife's". Carver also develops the two main characters to completely mirror one another. In these characters not only does sight and blindness become conflicted with each other, but the issue of knowledge ... situations. He recalls that his wife will never forget the instant when Robert "touched his fingers to every part of her face- even her neck! She never forgot it. She even tried to write a poem about it.--She only wrote poems after some...

• Word Count: 953
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... , is the protagonist of the story. The story unfolds through the narrator's point of view. "This blind man, an old friend of my wife's, he was on his way to spend the night," announces the narrator conversationally in the first line of the story. The narrator is jealous of his wife's friendship ... her hand. At first, the narrator has trouble believing this story. Then he starts to feel a little sorry for Robert (the first time the narrator refers to his future guest by his given name). He cannot comprehend being married to a woman for eight years without ever knowing what she looked like...

• Word Count: 11148
• Approx Pages: 45
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School