The story “The Country of the Blind” follows a mountaineer who stumbles upon a village inhabited entirely by blind people. He falls in love with a girl from the village. He wanted to marry her but troubles appeared in the way. This short story explores themes of resistance, superiority, and perception for readers.
The article will discuss the following things
- Author
- Characters
- Summary
- Analysis
- Themes
- Moral Lessons
- Conclusion
Author
H.G Wells wrote The Country of the Blind in 1904 in The Strand Magazine. An expanded version with a separate ending was also published in 1939.
Characters
- This short story book had the following characters for readers:
Nunez
He is the main character in the book. The author introduced him as a mountaineer. He guides many people who love hiking.
Medina Sarote
She is one of the blind girls in the story. Nunez fell in love with her. He wanted to marry her.
Yacob
He is Medina’s father in the book. You will learn that he was against the marriage of Medina with Nunez.
The Country Of The Blind Summary
HG Wells wrote this story in 1904. The setting takes place in the South American territory named Equador. The author mentioned a fictional mountain named Parascotopeti. The protagonist Nunez was a mountaineer. While hiking with English mountaineers, he fell from the mountain and landed in a secluded valley, cut off from the rest of the world.
Nunez discovered that all inhabitants of the Valley had lost their sight due to past diseases. Nunez was the only one man with sight among them. He considered himself superior. He wanted to teach them about imagination, but they didn’t appreciate his vision of the world.
Nunez got into a fight with a group of blind people, but later presented himself before the blind community and admitted his mistakes. Then, Nunez fell in love with a girl named Medina. She was the daughter of Yacob. Nunez worked for Yacob to win over Medina, but the blind community opposed their marriage, insisting Nunez undergo eye surgery to be like them. They want him to be blind. Nunez accepted the offer for Madina. The story had a simple ending. It ends when Nunez leaves the valley of blind people before his operation starts.
If you read the expanded version of this story, the author presented a different ending. In the expanded version, Nunez warned the villagers about the landslide, but they ignored his warning. He and Madina escaped the hazard by running away.
Literary Analysis
The story emphasized the value of collective effort against the individual. In the start, readers would learn that Nunez tried to rule over these blind people. He called him the king among Nlund because he had eyes. He considered himself superior but his perception was wrong. The villagers presented the conditions that caused Nunez to escape. They were united in doing so.
Further, it’s mentioned that the Villagers were far better in other senses than Nunez. They checked the temperature of the sand and determined the day-night cycle.
- The author suggested that we should challenge and update our perceptions of the world.
Themes Discovered
I have identified the following themes:
Perception
The author shared a lesson that perception varies from person to person. It’s wrong to believe that we are better than those who lack any sense. Maybe they are far better than us in many ways.
Adaptability
Nunez realized that to improve his life, he must adopt the lifestyle of the blind community.
Isolation
The valley is portrayed as separate from the rest of life. It’s full of solitude from others.
Unity
The villagers showed unity when Nunez tried to impose his superiority over them.
Freedom
Nunez preferred his freedom over love. He knew it was good to see the world instead of losing eyesight.
Moral Lessons
The story provides the following moral lessons:
- We must perceive things correctly based on facts.
- One should be humble in life.
- Arrogance like Nunez’s is lethal.
- Collective efforts can suppress imposed rules.
- Every environment demands change.
Conclusion: The Country Of The Blind Summary & Analysis
In this article, the summary and analysis of “The Country of the Blind” are discussed in detail, along with its themes. The plot revolves around a man who stumbles upon an isolated alley full of blind people. There, he falls in love with a girl, and they make him a strange offer in exchange for his love.
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