A Man Who Had No Eyes

“He was a shaggy, thick-necked fellow; his coat was greasy about the lapels and pockets, and his hand splayed over the cane’s crook with a futile sort of clinging.”

Markwardt’s dirty, unattractive appearance is symbolic of his treacherous nature and foreshadows the plot twist where he is revealed to be a liar. The phrase “futile sort of clinging” also signifies his dependence on other people’s sympathies and his metaphoric clinging to his traumatic past.

“Mr. Parsons, standing there in front of his hotel and noting the clack-clack approach of the sightless man, felt a sudden and foolish sort of pity for all blind creatures.”

Mr. Parsons is characterized as compassionate, yet his sympathies position him as superior. That Parsons feels for all “blind creatures” creates the illusion that Mr. Parsons is not blind. The pity that he feels for the man is described as “foolish,” giving a hint that Markwardt, the immediate object of his sympathy, does not deserve his kindness. At the same time, Parsons “listens” to the “clack-clack” sound of the man’s cane to understand that the man is blind. The narrative foreshadows Parsons’s blindness and his dependence on auditory stimuli to navigate his surroundings.

“And, thought Mr. Parsons, he was very glad to be alive.”

Mr. Parsons’s happiness at being alive is juxtaposed with his pity for people with blindness. This contrast adds to the illusion that he himself is not blind. The sentence also reflects his refusal to view his disability as an insurmountable obstacle, and the gratitude he feels for the youth and health that he is left with.