Re: JCO:An Encounter with the Blind

Hi, Jane. I like this interpretation of yours. It certainly ties in with
the themes of the earlier stories: overestimating one's power & importance. JCO
has always been concerned with tamping down the ego. Her remark in the
recent Guardian article -- Bush Americans' tendency to view themselves as good and
other population groups as evil -- is part of that. I could see the Senator
as today's White House and the boy as the Mideast.
Cyrano

n a message dated 9/5/2004 9:49:44 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
jward199@sbcglobal.net writes:

<< However, despite these obvious differences, there is the similarity of
sharply drawn characters (Oates describes the blind boy as giving "the impression
of having been drawn with minute, painsaking detail, with something like a
very fine drawing pen") engaged in psychological manipulation. There is also the
similarity of characters who, by the end of the story, are not confident and
strong as they thought themselves to be in the beginning, but rather powerless
victims in the hands of dangerous individuals.
>>
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