But I had my eyes closed. I thought I’d keep them that way for a little longer. I thought it something I ought to do.
The narrator's sentences slowing down shows the intensity of the scene and how much this means to him. He truly has an impactful experience that opens his mind up and takes away his prejudice beliefs that he had earlier.
I did it. I closed them just like he said. ‘Are they closed?’ he said. ‘Don’t fudge.’
Starts to call Robert "he" instead of only referring to him as "the blind man."
I didn’t answer her.
The narrator is too focused to respond and can only process his drawing rather than what his wife is asking him.
He found my hand, the hand with the pen. He closed his hand over my hand. ‘Go ahead, bub, draw,’ he said. ‘Draw. You’ll see. I’ll follow along with you. It’ll be okay. Just begin now like I’m telling you. You’ll see. Draw,’ the blind man said.
Robert is now "in control" of the narrator or at least now they are peers, whereas in the beginning of the story the narrator believed he was better than Robert.
I said, ‘The truth is, cathedrals don’t mean anything special to me. Nothing. Cathedrals. They’re something to look at on late-night TV. That’s all they are.’
This symbolizes the message of the story - he does not see the deeper meaning and story behind the cathedrals, so he treats them as they are on the outside. Much like he does with Robert in the beginning of the story.
‘That’s all right,’ I said. Then I said, ‘I’m glad for the company.’
The narrator appreciates Robert's company, even if he judged him previously. His likely does not have many people in his life and enjoys the times when he does.
Not much it doesn’t, bub,’
Robert refers to him as "bub" and shows him signs of respect, unlike the narrator.
He said, ‘I do now, my dear. There’s a first time for everything. But I don’t feel anything yet.’
Robert shows how he is open-minded and willing to try new things - contrast to the narrator who has set opinions alrwady on Robert.
I thought she might have gone to bed. I wished she’d come back downstairs. I didn’t want to be left alone with a blind man.
Treats the man as if he would be in danger because of the man, even though the man has shown no signs of harm.
I waited in vain to hear my name on my wife’s sweet lips: ‘And then my dear husband came into my life’ – something like that. But I heard nothing of the sort. More talk of Robert.
The man is clearly jealous, even though there are two old friends catching up, he wants to make the conversation about himself.
The blind man had right away located his foods, he knew just where everything was on his plate. I watched him with admiration as he used his knife and fork on the meat.
The narrator treats the blind man as the "inspirational overcomers" trope: he completes an everyday task but he is in admiration at how this can be possible without being able to see.
I remembered having read somewhere that the blind didn’t smoke because, as speculation had it, they couldn’t see the smoke they exhaled.
Media expectations and stereotypes of the man.
I’d always thought dark glasses were a must for the blind. Fact was, I wished he had a pair. At first glance, his eyes looked like anyone else’s eyes. But if you looked close, there was something different about them.
He has never met someone that is blind before but has expectations for what he is going to look like / how he is going to act.
Did you have a good train ride?’ I said. ‘Which side of the train did you sit on, by the way?’
This comment by the narrator is used to lessen the man or make fun of him for not being able to see. He knows the side of the train will not make a difference to him, but asks it anyways.
he was wearing a full beard! A beard on a blind man!
The narrator has a predetermined vision of what the man "should" look like or what he is going to look like due to stereotypes, likely through the media.
I saw my wife laughing as she packed the car. I saw her get out of the car and shut the door. She was still wearing a smile. Just amazing.
Shows more jealousy towards the man and his wife's relationship with him.
Imagine a woman who could never see herself as she was seen in the eyes of her loved one. A woman who could go on day after day and never receive the smallest compliment from her beloved. A woman whose husband could never read the expression on her face, be it misery or something better.
The narrator shows pity, not for her death and what the blind man is going through, but for the blind man's wife and him not being able to understand why someone would date a blind man because they cannot be seen. This shows more of his ableist beliefs towards the man.
That’s a name for a coloured woman.
The man clearly has other prejudice and negative beliefs, not just ableist but also racist. Connects to a similar theme of the man seeing himself as the best and others as less than him.
I don’t have any friends,’ she said. ‘Period. Besides,’ she said, ‘goddamn it, his wife’s just died! Don’t you understand that? The man’s lost his wife!’
This shows that the wife attempting to build some empathy from the narrator, but he does not seem to care for the man even while he is going through a tougher time.
Her officer – Why should he have a name? He was the childhood sweetheart, and what more does he want?
Shows the narrator's belief that he is better than others. Even though this man is non-disabled, he still sees himself as more important and does not even give the man a name.
She told me. And she told me something else. On her last day in the office, the blind man asked if he could touch her face. She agreed to this. she told me he touched his fingers to every part of her face, her nose – even her neck!
This shows how the narrator has some jealousy towards the man and his wife's relationship and is thrown off by the man.
In the movies, the blind moved slowly and never laughed.
Connects to the "bitter cripple" trope we discussed. The narrator makes his opinions based on what he sees in the media rather than his own experiences.
He was no one I knew. And his being blind bothered me
This line also shows the narrator's prejudice towards people with disabilities and makes it seem like he feels he is better than him for being nondisabled.
This blind man, an old friend of my wife’s, he was on his way to spend the night.
Refers to the man as "this blind man" showing that he only sees him for his disability, rather than him as individual. Shows his prejudice early on in the story.