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Metaphor
Explanation and Analysis—Blinded by the Light:
In Chapter 11, Richard moves to Memphis and moves in quickly with the Moss family. Their daughter, Bess, takes an immediate liking to Richard, but she confuses him, as he expresses in a metaphor:
I had come from a home where feelings were never expressed, except in rage or religious dread, where each member of the household lived locked in his own dark world, and the light that shone out of this child's heart—for she was a child—blinded me.
Richard describes how put-off he is by Bess's affection using metaphors of light and darkness. Richard uses similar metaphors commonly in the book to describe emotional purity and knowledge. Here, Richard uses darkness to describe his young life: in his childhood, when no one could share their emotions freely without fear of retribution, everyone was "locked in his own dark world." The lack of light represents a lack of emotional vulnerability and expression. Bess's light, in contrast, shines out of her "child's heart." She, seemingly, feels big emotions fully in a way that Richard was never allowed to do. As such, the light "blinds" him, just as Richard is overwhelmed by Bess's affection. Note how, shortly before this, when Richard was forced to leave the optometrist job and was again overwhelmed with emotion, he described that he walked into the sun "like a blind man." Generally in the memoir, Richard describes intense emotion as uncomfortable light which "blinds" him due to his "dark" upbringing.
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