Blindness

by José Saramago

I have no right to look if the others cannot see me, she thought to herself.

Then the sergeant shouted, Four of you come and fetch the body. Because they could neither see nor count, six blind men came forward. I said four, the sergeant bawled hysterically. The blind internees touched each other, then touched again, and two of them stayed behind.

stupid sergeant!

If we cannot live entirely like human beings, at least let us do everything in our power not to live entirely like animals,

Fighting has always been, more or less, a form of blindness, This is different,

Unconcerned about tomorrow, forgetful that he who pays in advance always ends up being badly served,

In a capitalistic society

The blind man and the blind woman were now resting, apart, the one lying beside the other, but they were still holding hands, they were young, perhaps even lovers who had gone to the cinema and turned blind there, or perhaps some miraculous coincidence brought them together in this place, and, this being the case, how did they recognise each other, good heavens, by their voices, of course, it is not only the voice of blood that needs no eyes, love, which people say is blind, also has a voice of its own.

(':

only a few thin columns of smoke rose from the embers, but not even these lasted for long, for it soon began to rain, a fine drizzle, a mere mist, it is true, but nevertheless persistent, to begin with it did not even touch the scorched earth, but transformed itself at once into vapour, but, as it continued to fall, as everybody knows, a soft water eats away hard stone, let someone else make it rhyme. It

And the dog of tears, who trails after the doctor’s wife, would scarcely deserve to be called a hyena, he does not follow the scent of dead meat, he accompanies a pair of eyes that he knows are alive and well.

a dog recognizes when it is seen!

Inside us there is something that has no name, that something is what we are.

Are you testing me, What an idea, who am I to put you to the test, it’s life that decides these things,

no reason to test someone's devotion to you. Life makes the decision for the both of you

Those six steps outside will be like a precipice, but finally, the fall will not be very serious, the habit of falling hardens the body, reaching the ground is, in itself, a relief,

Dont worry. If you fall you will only hit the ground

Why does Saramago provide no names for his characters and their city and country? What are the effects of this namelessness?

like the doctors wife said. There is no need for names with blindness. Our names are the first of our identity. To all our attachments. Our vision deluding us of who we really are. there is something deep inside of us with no name. that is how we recognize one another