On Her Blindness Flashcards
what is significant about the title On Her Blindness?
inspired by Milton’s sonnet On His Blindness which discusses his gradual blindness - Thorpe rejects this idea of stoicism and bravery
what does the lack of figurative language in On Her Blindness suggests
the choice of minimalist language reveals the depiction of a blunt and honest reality - doesn’t challenge her condition
what does the repeated caesura emph in On Her Blindness?
disorientation and struggle associated with being blind
my mother could not bear being blind.
the repeated plosive and short sentence depicts an admittance of struggle - blunt rejection of stoicism
One shouldn’t say it/ one should hide/ one tends to hear
repetition of outdated and archaic terms mocks and rejects stoicism
bear it like a roman
simile- dramatic image of being stoic and brave
(try it in a pitch-black room)
parenthesis suggests the hidden struggle - reluctance to reveal reality
‘I’d bump myself off’
direct speech reveals a blunt honesty - colloquial language
must have been the usual sop
generic/pointless words - disregard
locked-in son
helpless and can’t understand her
finished in a vision as black as stone
idea of depression and darkness - strength - still powers through regardless
bumping into walls like a dodgem/ no built in compass
use of colloquial language and dark humour to depict an attempt to cope and make the condition/pain appear less worse- she also involves herself in the jokes too
she’d visit exhibitions, admire films, sink into television
listing of verbs shows how she continues to cope- almost puts on an act of seeming fine
golden weather…autumn trees/ ablaze with colour…royal with leaf fall
vivid and colourful description contrasts with previous black stone - emph the things that she missed out on through describing more simple images
dying has made her no more sightless
idea that she is no longer suffering
it was up to believe she was watching, somewhere, in the end.
hopeful tone depicts the inevitability of wanting to cope and stoicism - mother had to pretend to be okay which passes onto son who pretends her death isn’t painful for him
