Blindness is widespread throughout human society and especially throughout human nature. Being blind can mean a myriad of things. Literally and physically, this means lacking vision. When taking this definition on a figurative level, it means not seeing through the perspective of others, or it can also mean overanalyzing and not seeing 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 comes up a multitude of times, and all definitions of blindness apply at least once in the book. The vast effects of the varied multitudes of blindness are prevalent 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 Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Blindness appears several times throughout the book among a variety of characters. The first obvious sign of blindness is found in Mrs. Dalton. Mrs. Dalton is physically blind, and because she is not able to see, she is also figuratively blind. In this case, Wright describes this particular type of blindness as a positive attribute. Since Mrs. Dalton cannot see the difference in skin color, she has no prejudice towards people based on their race. She is very kind to Bigger and is even interested in what he would like to do with his life. Additionally, she even offers to pay for him to go to night school to pursue a proper education. “He had feelings towards her similar to those he had 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 wanted him to do. she thought he should have done. I wanted to do” (Wright 61). As these warm feelings flashed through Bigger's thoughts, it appeared as if he was temporarily blind to his anti-white racism since Mrs. Dalton was blind to any form of anti-black racism. This can be verified, as Mrs. Dalton was one of the only white characters Bigger ever thought of fondly. By including these details in the story, Wright proved that one is not born with innate racism; prejudice is something that needs to be developed. If everyone was blind, racism would not exist, because no one would even be able to recognize the existence of a race if it cannot be seen. Although there is a positive side to blindness, a negative side also coexists. Until the end of the story, after Bigger was arrested and put on trial, he was one of the most seriously blind characters. Rather than viewing whites as individuals, he viewed them as a mass of people whom he ardently hated. He even hated those who were nice to him, like Jan and Mary, because instead of believing they were nice, he believed they were making fun of him or making fun of him. This blindness prevented him from taking the necessary steps to seize 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. Additionally, rather than truly befriending Mary and Jan and possibly helping them understand exactly what it feels like to be an oppressed African American, Bigger emotionallyostracized. Due to his ignorant blindness, Bigger also built a wall so high that it was impossible for anyone to enter or exit, thus preventing any sort of personal progression. It wasn't until the very end of the novel that Bigger finally realized how wrong he had been all his life to view white people as a single mass of evil racists trying to stop him from pursuing what he wanted, so that he could have considered them as individuals, because some individuals really wanted to help him move forward in life. By incorporating this recurring theme, Wright perhaps aimed to make his readers aware of their own wrongs, as well as to vividly show one of the true roots of racism and prejudice: blindness – blindness to feelings and to another person's point of view – blindness to empathy – blindness to the other. fact that the victims are also human beings. By making Mrs. Dalton physically blind and, in turn, figuratively blind to racism, Wright proves that prejudice against another race is not a valid reason to hate another person, because one must be judged by the content of one's character, and not by his character. physical appearance. If everyone was 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 pure and simple reason why racism can exist in the first place. When a person can view their victim as inferior or less than human, only then can they 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, they always will. Even though racism has lessened and there is now more tolerance, many people continue to be racist towards people of certain races. Currently, there is a lot of hatred and prejudice against Middle Easterners as well as the Islamic religion. Due to the events of 9/11 and various terrorist attacks, Americans have taken the plunge and directed their hatred towards Muslims and Middle Easterners. Yes, the majority of terrorist attacks have been carried out by Muslims and Middle Easterners, but that doesn't necessarily mean all Muslims are bad. Many people practice religion peacefully through a different interpretation, and because of America's blindness, many do not realize this. People should be seen as individuals and not as a mass. In addition, there are also many prejudices and discrimination against homosexuals due to the blindness of today's society. People brag about how America is 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, nor are they allowed to marry in some states. This is due to the ignorant blindness of American society. These people fail to see through the perspectives of homosexuals, and they fail to understand that feelings, like sexual orientation, are something that is neither controllable nor changeable. It is absolutely sickening to see the levels of narrow-mindedness and ignorance increase as the levels of reason and empathy decrease in the face of many scenarios..