Checklist: Writing About Character
1. Who is the main character or protagonist of the story?
The protagonist is the narrator.
2. Make a quick list of the character's physical, mental, moral, or behavioral traits. Which seem especially significant to the action in the story?
The narrator is the typical macho male - possessive of his wife while at the same time dismissive of her interests, blunt, and oftentimes insensitive. He initially seems to be especially insensitive and unsocial as he makes snide comments about Robert and during Robert's stay. Even before meeting Robert, the narrator already felt resentful towards him. For example, he thought, "So when the time rolled around, my wife went to the depot to pick him up. With nothing to do but wait - sure, I blamed him for that -... (84)"
3. Does the main character have an antagonist in the story? How do they differ?
The narrator makes it clear from the very beginning that he is displeased with the notion of his wife's old friend, a blind man, sleeping under their roof. From this point onwards, it is clear that this blind man, Robert, is the antagonist (even though he has done nothing wrong - in fact, the protagonist seems to fit the general qualities of an antagonist better than the antagonist himself). Robert is more sensitive, social, and open, unlike the protagonist. He enjoys company and kept in touch with the protagonist's wife by sending tapes to each other for years. When the narrator's wife fell asleep, Robert said to the him, "No, I'll stay up with you, bub. If that's all right. I'll stay up until you're ready to turn in. We haven't had a chance to talk... I feel like me and her monopolized the evening (89)." Robert is also less rigid than the narrator in the sense that he does not feel like he always has to have his way. When the narrator apologized for the channel they were watching, Robert said, "Whatever you want to watch is okay. I'm always learning something. (89)." Another distinction is that while the narrator seems to be more of the silent type who keeps to themselves, Robert is described to have a "big voice (85)" and a "big laugh" (88).
4. Does the way the protagonist speaks reveal anything about his or her personality?
There are many lines in the story that provide valuable clues to the narrator's personality. For example, when his wife was expecting her old friend, Robert, a blind man, to stay over at their house, the narrator thought, "I wasn't enthusiastic about his visit. He was no one I knew. And his being blind bothered me." He even suggested taking the visitor out bowling to his wife. The protagonist is also unsocial, and the thought of a visitor coming to sleep in his house made him grumpy. His wife said to him, "You don't have any friends. Period. (83)" The narrator is probably slightly racist as well. When he heard Robert's wife's name (Belulah), he immediately thought, "That's the name for a colored woman. (83)" However, there are also times when I see a more sensitive side to the narrator. When his wife told him about the Robert's wife's recent death, the narrator started to feel sorry for this stranger he disliked even before he met him. After meeting Robert, the narrator also became more thoughtful and perhaps respected Robert more. When Robert asked him to describe the cathedrals on the television, the narrator did his best to help the blind man imagine them. He even thought to himself, "How could I even begin to describe it? But say my life depended on it. Say my life was being threatened by an insane guy who said I had to do it or else. (90)."
5. If the story is told in the first person, what is revealed about how the protagonist views his or her surroundings?
The narrator is highly territorial of his space and his wife. He dislikes outside company, like Robert, and is even more resentful of Robert owing to the fact that his wife is old friends with him. Otherwise, the narrator is very comfortable with his home surroundings.
6. What is the character's primary motivation? Does this motivation seem reasonable to you?
At first the narrator's primary motivation was to have as little to do with Robert as possible. This was highly unreasonable to me, especially since Robert had recently faced the tragic death of his wife and was the narrator's wife's old friend. Any well-mannered person would go out of his or her way to make a visitor feel comfortable.
7. Does the protagonist fully understand his or her motivations?
It seems to me that the narrator is not fully aware of his motivations. He was just feeling sorry for himself that he had to go out of his way, and step out of his comfort zone, with a visitor in the house. Therefore, he was acting moody and sometimes rather rude to Robert. I do not think he was aware of his later motivations either, when he whole-heartedly tried to describe a cathedral to Robert. He did not realize that by doing his best to make something unknown vivid to a blind man, he was being sensitive - a character trait he hardly makes use of. When he was drawing the cathedral, he was doing his best to make the cathedral look as lifelike as possible for Robert, even though he remains as gruff as could be - "First I drew a box that looked like a house. It could have been the house I lived in. Then I put a roof on it. At either end of the roof, I drew spires. Crazy. (92)."
8. In what ways is the protagonist changed or tested by the events of the story?
The narrator becomes more sensitive towards the end of the story. He becomes more open with Robert, whom I think he feels that he can relate to. The narrator started out being dismissive, even disturbed, by blind people. In the end, he gains a respect for Robert, who is a jovial person even with his blindness and the recent loss of his wife. When the narrator finished drawing the cathedral, he continued closing his eyes even when Robert told him to take a look. "But I had my eyes closed. I thought I'd keep them that way for a little longer. I thought it was something I ought to do. (93)." The last sentence conveyed the narrator's newfound respect for the blind. He said, "It's really something. (93)."
I would probably cast John Wayne in the protagonist's role because the typical John Wayne character in all the cowboy movies (especially his role in The Searchers) fits so well with the protagonist's personality. It is almost a perfect match - both the protagonist and John Wayne (at least the cinematic version of John Wayne) are gruff, territorial people, slightly sarcastic, and closed-minded (at least in the beginning of the movie). Of course, John Wayne has passed away. However, if he was still alive, he would be perfect for the role. Jeff Bridges would be a good contemporary alternative option as well.
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