The Color Of Paradise

Miller 1

Elizabeth Miller

Esaay .net

23 April 2009

The Color of Paradise

Since childhood , I 've had this recurring nightmare that my eyes are open , but everything 's dark . In this dream , I just can 't seem to understand why I feel so blind . Then , I realize that I 'm standing in a windowless , pitch black prison cell . My eyes are open , but the scene before me is nothing more than confining darkness

In The Color of Paradise , there 's a man living my nightmare : Mohammad 's father

, Hashem . Hashem , unlike his visually handicapped son , is a seeing man - his eyes are open .but everything 's pitch black Spiritually , he 's in a dark , windowless room suffocating in his own selfishness and blindness . He is confined in a prison of his own making one built on bitterness and disaffection

He is blind to the beauty of his family he is blind to the wonder of life that his son , Mohammad , experiences daily he is blind to the beauty of God 's world and perhaps , most sadly , he is blind to his own condition . However , through tragedy and loss , he is forced to confront that condition and make a decision about his character

In striking contrast , his sightless son is able to see life with light optimism and faith . From the moment we meet him in the Tehran Special School for the Blind , we recognize his curiosity , hope and love of life He is marked by an unmistakable sense of...