There are certain hints in ‘The Eyes Have it that tell you that the narrator felt infatuated with the girl in the train. Elucidate the hints from your reading of the short story.
The narrator felt infatuated with the girl from the moment she boarded the train. Since he was blind, he cherished her presence through his ears. They shared their views about the beauty of Mussoorie in October. As their conversation continued the narrator daringly praised the girl’s face. The narrator was liking her company so much that he was ready to sit there for almost any length of time just to listen to her talk. He compared her voice with the sparkle of a mountain stream. The perfume of her hair tantalised him. He confessed that though the encounter was brief yet the whole memory of the journey would stay with him for a long time.
Discuss the character of the narrator in brief.
The character of the narrator in Ruskin Bond’s short story ‘The Eyes Have It has multiple shades. The first thing about him which strikes the readers is that he is visually impaired. As the story unfolds, his other traits come to surface. He comes across as a regular guy who enjoys the company of a woman, attempts not to let out his weaknesses, is intelligent and has a fine sense of humour. He is a smart talker but at times a little anxious and lonesome. The narrator, being blind has an inclination for guessing. From what his co-travellers companions say he guesses that they are her parents. Though he is blind, his other sense organs function quite well. The narrator understands that the girl is wearing slippers from the mere sound of those slapping against her heels. The narrator is the one, who takes the initiative to strike up a conversation and asks the girl where she will get down. He is an expert at getting away from peoples’ notice that he cannot view the world. He feels nostalgic while calling up his old days. The way he portrays nature is proof that he is a romantic at heart. The narrator, with his presence of mind, says to the girl that an interesting one can also be a pretty face. The girl fetches the attention of the narrator with her voice and the imaginative narrator compares it with the sparkle of the mountain stream. The tantalising smell coming from the girl’s hair allures the narrator. The thought of laughter makes him feel troubled as his world is a world of loneliness. The existence of contrasting qualities in the narrator makes him an exclusive personality.
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