We Must Create More Gardens for the Blind
What would it be like to live in a world of blindness? Those who are capable of seeing would probably shudder at the thought of permanently living in this state of dark and seemingly cloistered existence. Yet, one should not fail to realize that, despite their inability to see, the blind do, in fact, dwell in a world filled with a vast array of acute sensations which fully compensate for their lack of visionary capabilities.
If anyone is interested in entering, at least temporarily, into the realm of sightlessness, then he should visit the restaurant, Dans le Noir in France. At this unique establishment, one is granted the privilege of enjoying an entire meal served by blind waiters in pitch darkness. The dark environment robs customers of their ability to see and as is so fluently stated on the Dans le Noir website, grants them the opportunity to completely re-evaluate the notion of taste and smelling through our gastronomic and pedagogical process? (http://www.danslenoir.fr).
It might seem strange at first to think of eating without being able to see what one is consuming; but this truly might be the best way to dine. After all, the enjoyment of food is mainly centered on one's sense of taste. Yet, when a person is capable of seeing his meal, his attention is undoubtedly averted somewhat from its taste, because instead of focusing on the meal?s flavor, the person?s mind is partially consumed with absorbing the various visionary aspects of both the food as well as the surroundings. By eliminating this distraction, Dans le Noir, most likely, enhances the flavor of their food.
If the customer is not capable of seeing what he is about to eat, it is plausible that he might be more willing to try new dishes. How many times has one heard a child proclaim his aversion to a new type of food before he has even tried it? By observing the new and unusual appearance of a dish, children often immediately assume that the meal will as distasteful to their taste buds as it is to their eyes. The truth is, though, that if they could not see the food, they would probably eat it and maybe even enjoy it. The same principle should apply to adults. Thus, it would probably be best for someone to be introduced to roasted octopus, dog, or elephant in a setting similar to that of Dans le Noir.
The book Blind, written by Rachel DeWoskin, is about a highschool sophomore named Emma, who went blind after being struck in the face with a firework. When she first lost her sight, Emma was placed in a hospital for over 2 months, and once she was released, she could finally go home again. DeWoskin uses the characterization of Emma throughout the beginning of the text to help the reader understand the character’s struggle more. Especially in the first few chapters, it was difficult for Emma to adapt to a world without sight. For instance, DeWoskin writes, “And sat down, numb, on our gold couch. And tried to open my eyes, rocked, counted my legs and arms and fingers. I didn’t cry. Or talk” (DeWoskin 44). As a result of losing a very important scent, she’s started to act differently from a person with sight.
In the short story “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver, the narrator, Bub, is as metaphorically blind as his guest, Robert, is literally blind. Bub has many unwarranted misconceptions about life, blind people in particular. He also has many insecurities that prevent him from getting too close to people. Through his interaction with Robert, Bub is able to open his mind and let go of his self-doubt for a moment and see the world in a different light.
Some might refer to "seeing" as simply to watch with a naked eye, while some would refer to it as being able to witness an event and recall upon it later. In fact, some would even go as far as that if someone hasn't witnessed something visually, he basically hasn't "seen" it. However, in his essay "The Mind's eye," Oliver Sacks seemingly breaks the norm. In his essay, the blind's adaptation to their disadvantaged is talked about. Yet, it seems like those who were victims of the neurological disorder seem better off blind. Furthermore, another question hanging in the balance is whether the blind people are actually "adapting" to their new lives or rather "reforming" how they will live? Through various stories of blind people, he is able to
In Faulkner’s short story, “A Rose for Emily,” Emily is a very secretive, isolated woman. At one point Emily was exceptionally strange and mysterious. Binder states, “When Emily’s father dies, the physical presence of his influence dies with him, but the effects of his actions remain to wreak havoc on Emily’s future” (2.) In her childhood,
There are two types of Albinism; the fist type is called (OCA) which is the most common type. People with this albinism have light blue- gray eyes, very light skin, and hair. The second type of albinism is ocular albinism (OA), which is less common because it is less noticeable. People with (OA) have slightly lighter eyes, skin and resemble their family members features like the color of their skin and hair. People that have oculocutaneous albinism (OCA) have an autonomic recessive chromosome that is a disorder that has two copies of the abnormal gene and is presented in o...
The husband in Raymond Carvers “Cathedral” wasn’t enthusiastic about his wife’s old friend, whom was a blind man coming over to spend the night with them. His wife had kept in touch with the blind man since she worked for him in Seattle years ago. He didn’t know the blind man; he only heard tapes and stories about him. The man being blind bothered him, “My idea of blindness came from the movies. In the movies, the blind moved slowly and never laughed. Sometimes they were led by seeing-eye dogs. A blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to. (Carver 137)” The husband doesn’t suspect his ideas of blind people to be anything else. The husband is already judging what the blind man will be like without even getting to actually know him. It seems he has judged too soon as his ideas of the blind man change and he gets a better understanding of not only the blind man, but his self as well.
Originally known as Malcolm Little, he endured numerous trials and tribulations by being born into an African American family in the time of the great struggle for equality for minorities. At a tender age Little learned about the hate the predominantly white society harboured towards black people. Little developed his attitude towards civil activism as he was growing from his father Earl Little a charismatic Baptist minister and activist ("Malcolm-X.org"). Due to Earl Little's activism and his job allowing him to talk to large audiences about the injustice and oppression of minorities, he got threats from the "Black Legion"("Estate of Malcolm X"), a white supremacist group which then put Malcolm and his siblings lives in danger. The Little family had to move away ...
Many people view blindness as a disability, but could these people be blind to their surroundings? Even though the narrator can perfectly see with his eyes, he lacks in understanding awareness. The narrator blindness isn 't physical, like many vision impaired people. His blindness is psychological, and his blindness causes him to become jealous. His blindness blocks his perception of viewing the world in a different way. This only causes him to see the physical attributes of humans, and thus shut off his mindfulness of viewing human personalities. As a result of a closed mind, the narrator doesn 't understand how Robert was able to live with the fact that he was never able to see his wife in the flesh, but the narrator fails to see that Robert vision of his wife was intimate. On the other hand, Robert blindness is physical. This causes Robert to experience the world in a unique manner. Without Robert eyesight, he is able to have a glimpse of a human personality. He uses his disability to paint pictures in his head to experience the world. By putting his psychological blindness aside, the narrator is able to bond with Robert, and he grasps the understanding of opening his eyes for the first time, and this forms a new beginning of a
Albinism is a genetic disorder that is caused by the lack of pigments. Sometimes it only affects the eye which is called ocular albinism. You can receive albinism from your genetics. You can be an albino in your eyes, skin or hair. It affects people of all races and all around the world. Studies show one in 20,000 people worldwide have some form of albinism. Certain forms of albinism are more common in some populations. Most common form of albinism is OCAZ and is found in one in 36, 0000 Caucasians in the United States. There are four types of albinism; type 1 is characterized by white hair, very pale skin, and light colored eyes. Type 2 is less severe their skin is usually a creamy white color and their hair could be a light yellow, blonde or light brown. Type 3 has a form of albinism called “rufous oculocutaneous albinism” this usually affects dark-skinned people. They have reddish-brown skin, ginger or red hair and hazel or brown eyes. Type 3 has milder vision problems. Type 4 has the same symptoms similar to type 2. Types 1 and 2 are the most common forms; types 3 and 4 are not as common.
In the article by Wendell Berry titled “The Pleasures of Eating” he tries to persuade the readers of the necessity and importance of critical thinking and approach to choosing meals and owning responsibility for the quality of the food cooked. He states that people who are not conscious enough while consuming products, and those who do not connect the concept of food with agricultural products, as people whose denial or avoidance prevents them from eating healthy and natural food. Berry tries to make people think about what they eat, and how this food they eat is produced. He points to the aspects, some which may not be recognized by people, of ethical, financial and
When defining the word blindness, it can be interpreted in various ways. Either it can be explained as sightless, or it can be carefully deciphered as having a more complex in-depth analysis. In the novel Blindness, Jose Saramago depicts and demonstrates how in an instant your right to see can be taken in an instant. However, in this novel, blindness is metaphorically related to ‘seeing’ the truth beyond our own bias opinions.
When most people think of blind people, they tend to picture a person with dark sunglasses, a seeing eye dog, and a walking stick. These are stereotypes and obviously do not remain true in the case of all blind people. In Raymond Carver’s short story “Cathedral," the main character is jealous and judgmental of his wife’s friend who happens to be a blind man. It is the combination of these attitudes that leads to his own unique “blindness." It is through this initial blindness, that the character gains his greatest vision.
Miss Emily’s bad luck caused her to separate herself from reality and into her figment of her imagination. She was perceived as personnel who had fallen into a steep mental depression. She sealed herself away from reality and turned down making acquaintances. No one requested for her and she did not try to alternate her lifestyle. Eventually she was buried deeper and deeper into her figment of imagination. She desired to find a stand-in for her father and was drawn to an authoritarian personality in the men that she adored and this may be the explanation why she stored their carcass around after their deaths to preserve the same atmosphere to which she had been used to and to reduce the feeling of seclusion. The power of death in “Roses for Emily” may well be a reflection of the loss that American’s faced during the great depression.
Almost 50% of people with eating disorders meet the criteria for depression.Only 1 in 10 men and women with eating disorders receive treatment. Only 35% of people that receive treatment for eating disorders get treatment at a specialized facility for eating disorders. Up to 24 million people of all ages and genders suffer from an eating disorder (anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder) in the U.S. Along with all these appalling statistics, eating disorders have the highest mortality of any mental disorder(1). There are multiple causes of eating disorders leading to horrific consequences, but various treatment plans await those victims seeking to get help.
Eating disorders can very well change a person's life and affect people around him or her. People engaged in these eating disorders are mostly referred to as victims, because of horrible and dangerous effects of these diseases. Eating disorders are very serious; sometimes life threatening illnesses can occur. There are three different common eating disorders: bulimia, anorexia nervosa, and binge eating. There are also two that are not as common disorders recognized by most of the people today; they are anorexia, pica, and bulimia in combination. One must first know how to recognize the disorders in order to help one's self or others battle. Eating disorders are very common and people should know what they are, what causes them, how to detect them, and most importantly how to help prevent it or stop it. Anorexia nervosa is one of the types of eating disorders in which a person starves them self in order to gain and maintain their idea of "perfection". This condition happens when a person is constantly dieting to the extreme because of a mental image they have of their body that is incorrect. It usually strikes women around the time when they start going through puberty and has also been known to happen in the late teens and the early twenties. This state of starvation leads to a loss of 150 below normal body weight. Of the 7 million women between the ages 15 to 35 who have anorexia, 65 percent will surely die due to the complications of this disorder (Wellness Web 2).