I've read up to page 114 and I decided I want to comment on the writing style that José Saramago uses. This is the third book I've read for this class that doesn't use normal format when there is diolouge in the book. I found it easier to grasp the style in The Handmaid's Tale and The Road, but I still can't read Blindness without having to focus really hard on keeping track of who is speaking. I suppose it's written like this to confuse us, because for all of the inmates, it's just as confusing. When they hear each other speak, they don't necessarily know who is speaking. In this way, we sort of get an inside look at their experience in the mental hospital. But at the same time, I actually find it really annoying because I can't tell which parts of
the text are spoken out loud and which are just thoughts of the inmates.
-Ky
Yes, I agree with you Ky! Adding on to your thoughts- Saramago may also not use quotations to signify the complexity of the disease and situation that the characters are in. The lack of quotations confuse me too, making me guess who may be speaking. It is uncommon to not use quotations around dialogue, in which it is also uncommon to have a disease so unheard of, as well as rare to see society in a state of such disorder. Saramago's lack of quotations represent many abnormal aspects that occur in his novel.
ReplyDeleteThese are really great observations! The punctuation and structure choices are definitely deliberate and calculated on Saramago's part - he wants you to respond in exactly the way you are.
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