Blindness is prevalent throughout human society and, more specifically, throughout human nature. Being blind can mean a myriad of things. Literally and physically, it means lack of adequate vision. Taking this definition to a figurative level, it means failing to see through other people's perspectives, or it can also mean overanalyzing and failing to see the true shape of a situation. Depending on the scenario, the effects of blindness can be positive or negative, although it is usually the latter. In the novel Native Son by Richard Wright, the theme of blindness occurs a multitude of times and all definitions of blindness apply at least once within the book. The vast effects of different multitudes of blindness are evident in the mindset of the characters in Native Son, and ultimately, it teaches a lesson about society as a whole. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Blindness appears repeatedly throughout the book within a variety of characters. The first obvious sign of blindness is found in Mrs. Dalton. Mrs. Dalton is physically blind, and because she is unable to see, she is also figuratively blind. In this case, Wright describes this particular type of blindness as a positive attribute. Because Mrs. Dalton cannot see the difference in skin color, she has no prejudice against people based on their race. He is very kind to Bigger and even takes an interest in what he would like to do with his life. Furthermore, she even offers to pay for his night school to pursue a proper education. “He had a similar feeling towards her as he felt towards his mother. The difference between his feelings toward Mrs. Dalton and his mother was that he felt that his mother wanted him to do the things that she wanted him to do, and he felt that Mrs. Dalton wanted him to do the things that she thought he should do. I wanted to do” (Wright 61). As these warm feelings ran through Bigger's thoughts, it seemed that he was temporarily blind to his anti-white racism as Mrs. Dalton was blind to any kind of anti-black racism. This can be ascertained, for Mrs. Dalton was one of the few white characters Bigger had ever thought of with any fondness. By including these details in the story, Wright demonstrated that you are not born with innate racism; prejudice is something that needs to be developed. If everyone were blind, racism wouldn't exist, because no one would even be able to recognize the existence of a race if it couldn't be seen. While there is a positive side to blindness, there is also a negative side. Until the end of the story, after Bigger was captured and put on trial, he was one of the most severely blind characters. Rather than seeing whites as individuals, he saw them as a mass of people, whom he hated with a passion. He also hated those who were kind to him, like Jan and Mary, because instead of believing that they were kind, he believed that they were teasing or teasing him in some way. This blindness prevented him from taking steps towards seeking opportunities: opportunities for progression and advancement, and opportunities for change in his life, as well as in the lives of others. Instead of accepting Mrs. Dalton's offer to go to school and better himself, Bigger turned down the opportunity. Furthermore, instead of truly befriending Mary and Jan and possibly helping them understand exactly what it feels like to be an oppressed African American, Bigger emotionally ostracized them. Due to his ignorant blindness, Bigger also built a wall so high, which was impossible foranyone enter or for him exit, thus preventing any type of personal progression. It was only at the end of the novel that Bigger finally realized how wrong he had been all his life to see white people as one mass of evil racists trying to keep him from going after what he wanted, when he could have seen them as individuals, because there were some individuals who really wanted to help him advance in life. By incorporating this recurring theme, Wright perhaps aimed to make his readers realize the mistakes of their own, as well as vividly show one of the true roots of racism and prejudice: blindness – blindness to another person's feelings and perspective – blindness towards empathy – blindness towards the fact that victims are also human beings. By making Mrs. Dalton physically blind and, in turn, figuratively blind to racism as well, Wright demonstrates the fact that prejudice against another race is not a valid reason to hate another person, because one should be judged by the content of character, not by his character. physical appearance. If everyone were blind, racism would cease to exist, because no one would be able to judge a person by the color of their skin if they cannot be seen. By making Bigger figuratively blind, Wright proved another point: being blind to the empathy and perspectives of others leads to the dehumanization of the oppressed in the eyes of the oppressor. This is the plain and simple reason why racism can exist in the first place. When you can see your victim as inferior or less human, only then can you inflict harm on them without feeling remorse. No matter what era or era, literal and figurative blindness will always exist in society. First of all, racism and prejudice still exist in society and, undeniably, always will. Even though racism has subsided and there is more tolerance now, there are many people out there who are still racist against people of certain races. Right now, there is a lot of hatred and prejudice towards Middle Easterners and the Islamic religion. Because of what happened on September 11 and also the various terrorist attacks, Americans hastily turned their hatred towards Muslims and Middle Easterners. Yes, most terrorist attacks have been carried out by Muslims and Middle Easterners, but that doesn't necessarily mean that all Muslims are evil. There are many who peacefully practice religion through a different interpretation, and due to America's blindness, there are numerous people who cannot see it. People should be seen as individuals and not as a mass. Furthermore, there is also a lot of prejudice and discrimination against homosexuals due to the blindness of today's society. People brag about America being a country of freedom and acceptance, but how can you brag about something that isn't true? Nowadays, gays are still not fully accepted in society and in some states they are not even allowed to marry. This is due to the ignorant blindness of American society. These people fail to see through the point of view of homosexuals and fail to see that feelings, along with sexual orientation, are something that is neither controllable nor alterable. It is absolutely disgusting to see levels of closed-mindedness and ignorance increase while levels of reason and empathy decrease towards many of the scenarios occurring in today's society. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Blindness is an innate part of human nature and will always exist in society. Most of the time, people don't,.