The Contrast between the Case of the Blind Painter and to See and Not to See - Book Report/Review Example

An Anthropologist on Mars Written by Oliver Sacks, An Anthropologist on Mars is a book consisting ofseven chapters, each addressing a different case dealt with by the author on separate occasions. What is interesting is that all of the seven cases deal with vision and blindness in some form or another. In each case, the story is paradoxical and ironic although one could be hopeful. The book is more of a collection of odd stories that the author himself encountered that were worth articulating in textual form. The seven cases present a curious range of human experiences with seven diverse backgrounds yet having some similar themes – vision. Each story describes different patient cases with different neurological conditions. In this essay, I will compare and contrast The Case of the Blind Painter and To See and Not to See for possible similarities and differences as they present distinguishing tales that are yet similar in some context. The Case of the Blind Painter is about a 65 year old artist and painter who lost the ability to distinguish color after he had a car accident, which damaged the vision center of his brain. Sacks admits that this case was one its kind due to its unique nature. Sacks had not come across such a case in his career before and had earlier understood that color blindness was a condition that people were born with, that is, it was congenital (4). The state of Jonathan I’s color blindedness was such that he was unable to even see color and everything around him seemed as though he was watching a “black and white television screen” (Sacks, 3). The irony in this case is apparent as an artist develops the unusual condition, an individual for whom visual pleasure depends on the reception of color as color. Sacks agrees as he puts how the incidence of the condition in a painter is “intriguing” because color is “of primary importance” for such an individual (4). But now as the world becomes colorless for the 65 year old painter, how will he add vibrancy to his artworks. As he himself describes, the “brown dog is dark grey”, “tomato juice is black” and color television is equivalent to a black and white television. The intensity of the neural condition together with the fact that the occurrence was sudden and permanent hits the patient with shock and distress. Paradoxical as the story of the painter is, so is that of the subject in To See and Not To See where the title itself indicates a sense of irony in the situation where vision is restored to the patient who had, for nearly 40 years, lived without sight (Sacks, 108). Because the patient was not completely blind, the doctor’s decided to operate his eyes with relatively less risk. Upon the success of the operation, the patient named Virgil was able to see. Pleasingly, his vision was restored around a time when has about to get married to his fiancée. The situation is described as unexpected by the author where a previously blind man can now see (Sacks, 109). Therefore, as the title suggests, being able to see after a significantly long period of being blind, the two experiences are strikingly contrasting and different. To be able to adjust to the new visual setting is pleasing and wonderful as it almost seems like a miracle after having accepted one’s fate as a terminally blind man. Gladly, the occasion of recovery came with the initiation of one’s life as a married couple. The occurrence is much like an “unexpected” and unusual happening in the career of a neurologist whose life, unlike that of scientist’s is “not systematic” (Sacks, 109). The two chapters therefore present a paradox and a conflict of situation where fate and circumstances clash and the result is either devastating or pleasing. For both subjects, Jonathan I and Virgil, vision proves to be a common factor where one struggles to cope with the black and white in his life while the other finds himself embarking upon a transformed life of color and vision. The irony is also a common factor. In the first chapter, a separation is created between color and a painter which is unimaginably conflicting because without color, a painting does not have a life. However, Jonathan I’s condition was serious as he became permanently color blind although he could distinguish lines and letters. What would follow is a coping treatment where Jonathan learns how to deal with his disability. In a way, his life is the exact opposite of Virgil’s where he was completely able to see prior to the accident that damaged his receptor cells in the brain. Virgil, on the other hand, lives a life where he previously suffered from blindness but after having his eyes operate, his vision was restored. The two stories somewhat oppose each other with the circumstances that are created. While other goes from being normal to blind, another one goes from blind to normal. The intriguing part to Virgil’s vision restoration was miraculous however as later Sacks explains, how was it different to other’s vision who had had normal sight since birth (109). Sacks examined the connection between experience and sight as it affects the vision of a man whose sight had just been restored. Experience, as Sacks explains, was necessary for the development of a relationship between the “tactile world and a sight world” implying that if an individual having congenital blindness taught to recognize things by touch were restored vision would not be able to distinguish previously recognized objects such as a cube and a sphere. This is because the individual had been oriented to recognize or sense the world by means of touch which came to be realized as a commonly acceptable truth for him. But now having vision restored, the individual has to learn by means of vision in order to realize the difference between objects as well as individual identities. So, experience forms an important part of how the world is viewed by a person especially as a normal individual grows up with visions and experiences of the normal world. The most contrasting aspect of the two cases is the presence and absence of vision. However, learning, memory, and experience are a few concepts that are common to both cases. In the case of Jonathan I, color is what makes the difference for his experience of the before and after world. Because Jonathan I had been born normal without any strains of congenital blindness, he learnt how to receive colors through the cells in his brain. This made him accept color as red, green, blue or other variants. Had he been born with color blindness, he would not have sensed the difference in his environment which had been the result of the accident. The human brain is capable of adjusting to surrounding cues and stimuli and this is how it learns to respond to color, sound, and other energies. Now that Jonathan I lost the ability to detect colors or tell them from each other, everything suddenly started appearing strangely black and white. For him, the world had been colored, which also made his paintings what they were. Similarly, for Virgil having developed blindness at an early age meant him adapting to the dark world without light. The restoration of sight came as a change in the external environment to which he did not know how to respond to because his external setting had been changed to one to which he was not accustomed to. This is almost like Plato’s allegory of the cave but in a rather literal sense. After staying within the dark cave for years, the men were blinded by the light of the sun because their eyes were not accustomed to viewing such high light intensities. Because of this, Virgil has two different experiences before and after having his sight restored. So, learning, memory, and experience of the new setting are a prominent theme of the two stories where vision is an important element. Both patients now have to adapt to a life that is different than what they are accustomed to, however, for Virgil it is perhaps a fortunate moment whereas for Jonathan I, it is a newly founded disability he has to come to terms with. Vision is a central element of both the chapters The Case of the Blind Painter and To See and Not to See where Sacks’ subjects are faced with rather sudden new experiences of sight and vision. Although the circumstances differ for both individuals, they go through a similar situation of adaptation and environmental change. Both individuals experience a transformation to their lives with the newly founded challenges. Since Sacks ahs derived these stories from real-life cases, one can be sure that each of the seven stories presents rare or extraordinary cases where people struggle to maintain the perceived normality of life. As stated by the authors, all cases also have some inherent form of paradox in them despite being diverse in nature. Works Cited Sacks, Oliver W. An Anthropologist On Mars. 1st ed. New York: Knopf, 1995. Print. Read More