The Country of the Blind

Nunez’s experiences in the country of the blind are filled with irony, meaning that the outcomes of his choices often contradict his expectations. For instance, the first time Nunez tries to undermine the people who are blind is when he steps away from the path, hoping to sneak past his companions and use his sight to hide from them. As soon as he steps away from the path, however, they immediately locate him, using their acute sense of hearing to detect his position. Instead of establishing his superiority through his ability to trick them, the incident exposes Nunez’s lack of understanding of the culture he finds himself in.

Nunez expects that his efforts will get the blind people to recognize him as their ruler, affirming his sight as the sign of his power over them. Instead, they consider his mind “newly formed,” as if he were a child, because of his perceived clumsiness and lack of understanding. Irony directly reveals The Folly of Colonialism as Nunez’s colonialist ambitions are frustrated when he is placed into the lowest class of their social hierarchy, the direct result of his ignorance of the society.