1.

In the first few sections of the story, what do the narrator’s remarks about the visit of the
blind man, about his wife’s history, and about himself suggest about what kind of person
he is? How would you characterize this narrator’s worldview? His values? How is our
vision of the narrator influenced by how he speaks, by Carver’s relentlessly simple
sentences, by the narrator’s attributing a word such as inseparable to his wife, for
example? Is the narrator a sympathetic character? If so, why? What makes him
sympathetic?

o In the first few sections of the story, the narrator tells the reader that a blind friend
of his wife is coming to visit them. The narrator is very unhappy and not excited
about the visit. He has a flashback of his wife and how she met the blind man. He
is a very selfish and arrogant person. He only cares about himself and his own
feelings. He is very judgmental because he makes a joke about taking the blind
man to go bowling. He is very miserable with his wife and bothered by the way
his wife and Robert stay connected by audio tapes. He also tries to drink his
problems away in their marriage. I think that the narrator is not sympathetic at all.
He only cares about his happiness and his needs, not his wife's. He is very self-
centered.

2. What is the narrator’s attitude toward the visit of the blind man? Why is he so threatened
by the idea of that visit? How might the blind man threaten his worldview and/or values?
What do you make of the narrator’s not being named in the story?

o The narrator's attitude toward the visit of the blind man is very harsh. He doesn't
want him coming at all. The reason behind his attitude is because he bases the
blind man's personality off movies he has seen. He was very bothered by the blind
man and he said they are never happy. He feels very threatened by how he sees
him treating his wife. His jealousy gets the best of him. He may threaten his world
view because shows him not everyone in the world is a bad person. It may also
make the narrator not feel good enough because the blind man seems to be
making his wife happier than he does. I can make that the narrator may not be an
actual character and is just writing off experience. The narrator may not actually
be in the story and is just the voice of it all.

3. What is the significance of the fact that the narrator reacts so strongly and so
imaginatively to the idea of the death of the blind man’s wife? What does this reaction
suggest about him? How and why might it change our view of the narrator?

o The importance of the narrator reacting so strongly to the death of the blind man’s
wife was because Robert never got to actually see her. Beulah his wife died of
cancer in a Seattle hospital. The narrator had a drink and cared to learn about the
blind man. He stated " They'd married, lived and worked together, slept together-
had sex, sure- and then the blind man had to bury her. All this without his having
ever seen what the goddamned woman looked like. It has beyond my
understanding. Hearing this, I felt sorry for the blind man for a little bit" (p.30,
para 16). After hearing the story, the narrator was very sympathetic towards him.
He begins to talk to the blind man more and tried to connect with him on another
level. It may change our view on the narrator because now he is becoming very
nice, caring, and not self-centered. The narrator’s personality and attitude has
changed for the better.