HE’S BLIND FOR A REASON, YOU KNOW.

1. HE’S BLIND FOR A REASON, YOU KNOW. but first… Swap your vocabulary with a classmate. Grade definitionson a scale of 3: 3=all completed 2=some completed 1=mostly incomplete

2. Vocab definitions: • Atone: v. to supply satisfaction for; to make amends • Banish: v. to force (someone) to leave a country as punishment • Begrudge: v. to give or concede reluctantly or with displeasure • Beseech: v. to beg for urgently or anxiously; to request earnestly • Contemptuous: adj. manifesting, feeling, or expressing deep hatred or disapproval; feeling or showing contempt

3. Vocab definitions: • Convict: v. to find or prove to be guilty; to convince of error or sinfulness • Defile: v. to make unclean or impure • Hem: v. to surround in a restrictive manner • Impunity: n. exemption or freedom from punishment, harm, or loss • Indictment: n. the act of officially charging someone with a crime

4. Vocab definitions: • Inscribe: v. to write, engrave, or print as a lasting record • Invoke: v. to petition for help or support; to appeal to or cite as authority • Keen: adj. having a fine edge or point; affecting one as if by cutting • Liberate: v. to set at liberty; to free • Oracle: n. a person through whom a deity is believed to speak; a shrine in which a deity reveals hidden knowledge

5. Vocab definitions • Proclamation: n. something proclaimed; an official formal public announcement • Rack: n. an instrument of torture on which a body is stretched • Reproach: n. an expression of rebuke or disapproval • Resignation: n. an act or instance of resigning something • Revere: v. to show devoted deferential honor to

6. Last one! • Savior: n. one that saves from danger or destruction; one who brings salvation • Solicitude: n. the state of being concerned and anxious; attentive care and protectiveness • Supplication: n. a request made humbly and earnestly • Treacherous: adj. likely to betray trust; marked by hidden dangers • Vile: adj. morally despicable or abhorrent; physically repulsive

7. He’s blind for a reason… • Situation: • A well-known, highly respected man tries desperately to hunt down a criminal, whose guilt causes a plague that affects everyone else. • He doesn’t realize he himself is the criminal. • He calls in an “information specialist” who happens to be blind. • The specialist tells him the truth. • The protagonist argues with him and calls him a liar. • Who’s who? • Who’s more blind?

8. Blindness in Literature • Strong thematic symbolism • Blindness vs. seeing—physically or metaphorically • Light vs. darkness—truth vs. deceit • Readers have to ask, “Why blindness?” to read the text at a deeper level • Other examples… • James Joyce’s “Araby”—a boy watches a girl on a “blind street,” through almost closed blinds, and is blinded by love. • Shakespeare’s King Lear—an earl is fooled by his evil son into disowning his good son, and is then physically blinded by his evil son.

9. Start Searching! Get in groups of 2-3… • Complete chart to follow development of sight/blindness in Oedipus Rex in the Prologous, Episode I, and Stasimon I. • To cite: “Complete quote from text” (line #). • To analyze: • Discuss who is blind and who is seeing, literally and metaphorically • Suggest why that person is literally and/or metaphorically blind or seeing • Each person will submit their own chart. Individuals who do not submit a chart will receive a 0. According to shmoop.com, “If one of Sophocles' ancient audience members missed the irony in this episode, he must've visited the wine stand a few to many times.” See how you fare!

10. Finish Up/Homework: • Submit chart before leaving! • Due tomorrow: • Read “He’s Blind for a Reason, You Know,” by T. C. Foster • Answer questions attached to reading • Thursday: Vocabulary quiz • Over long weekend: Read through Stasimon IV in Oedipus Rex; continue study guide