The Elephant In The Village Of The Blind Analysis

“There are no facts, only interpretations” – a quote from Frederick Nietzsche which suggests there may be problems arriving at accurate conclusions regardless of how perfect physical sight is. By analyzing the short stories of “The Elephant in the Village of the Blind,” as well as “20/20” by Linda Brewer, the reader may find these very problems presented throughout the entirety of both texts. Both stories present a character whose perception of physical sight is slightly skewed, contrasted with a character who seems to have an accurate interpretation of their situation. Throughout these texts, each character exhibits presuppositions about the other – presuppositions that are both right and wrong. In these stories, the characters wrongly assume

Although they believed they succeeded, the villagers were unable to fully determine the elephant’s appearance because they could not fully assess the situation; the traveler take advantage of their foolishness, as he believes he already knows the essence of the elephant. Several villagers begin to describe parts of the elephant, based on touch, as “a leather fan,” “a rough, hairy pillar,” “a cool, smooth staff,” and even an “overturned washing tub.” Eventually the villagers conclude “that the elephant was in fact an enormous, gentle ox with a stretched nose.”(Mays 14) The inaccuracy of their description proves to the reader the notion of being able to determine the complete truth of a matter without physical sight is absurd. The blind villagers were erroneous to assume they were wise enough to reveal the truth about the elephant on their own, without the use of physical sight. However, the traveler was wrong as well. Because he can physically see the elephant, he believes he already knows the truth. This seemingly leads to him attempting to swindle the villagers for another chance to identify the elephant in the coming year. This deception is an indication of the traveler’s confidence in his own wisdom. He is wrong to assume that because he can see physically, he is wiser than the villagers and has the capabilities to con them. Thus, one’s physical capability to see in no way effects his or her own wisdom. Simply because a man can see, that does not make him wise and simply because a man is blind, does not make him