Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Discuss whether it is justifiable to suspend individual rights for the greater good.

• What prompted the authorities to quarantine people who were struck blind or considered contaminated? (Topic sentence)
• Discuss the pros and cons of isolating the blind and contaminated people, both for those quarantined and for those on the outside, citing passages from the book.
• Draw a conclusion as to whether authorities are ever justified in depriving a few people of their human rights in the interest of the population overall.

2. Discuss the significance of not describing any of the characters in Blindness by name.

• What is the significance of the author’s choice to omit names for all the characters? (Topic sentence)
• Discuss how the words used to refer to the characters differ from personal names and the effect those substitutions might have on the reader. Also consider the Doctor’s Wife’s opinion on the significance of names.