Blindness

=//Blindness// 1 by Jose Saramago=


 * [|Audio file] of our book discussion

Group Members:** Stefanie H Ben M Chloe B Stephanie M Chelsea B Katie W Zach S Steve S. * Kristine G. *

Thursday January 7th 2W 7:55-9:25
 * Discussion Time:**



Agenda - Facilitator: Ben M
8. Overall impressions of the book and wrap-up**
 * 1. Introduction**
 * Why did we chose this book to read?
 * 2. Characters**
 * Why do you think the author chose the Doctor's Wife to be the only one who could see?
 * Do you think there is significance with the characters not having names, just identities?
 * What could each of the characters represent in society? Allegorical connections?!?!
 * Did the thief play an important role in the book?
 * 3. Narration**
 * Who was the narrator of the novel?
 * What was the quality of the narrator's voice?
 * 4. Setting**
 * Why did the author chose to put the blind internees in an asylum?
 * Why is the city's name never mentioned?
 * 5. Themes/Motifs/Symbolism**
 * What in the book can be seen as specific allegories to something else?
 * What do you believe was the significance of the paintings in the church having their eyes painted white?
 * Political
 * Society
 * Religion (Re-occuring idea of God and him watching)
 * Human Nature
 * Crime and Sex
 * How was fear manifested in the book?
 * 6. Style of Writing**
 * Did you like the style of writing the author chose?
 * Was the book easier or harder to read because of the writing style?
 * What could be the reasons why the author chose to write this way?
 * 7. Share and Discuss outside resources

Blindness Movie Review: []

Comments of Bob Corbett: [|http://www.webster.edu/~corbetre/personal/reading/saramago-blindness.html]

Description of Saramago's style: Saramago's experimental style often features long sentences, at times more than a page long. He uses periods sparingly, choosing instead a loose flow of clauses joined by commas. Many of his paragraphs extend for pages without pausing for dialog, which Saramago chooses not to delimit by quotation marks; when the speaker changes, Saramago capitalizes the first letter of the new speaker's clause. In his novel //Blindness//, Saramago completely abandons the use of proper nouns instead choosing to refer to characters simply by some unique characteristic, an example of his use of style to enhance the recurring themes of identity and meaning found throughout his work.