In the beginning of "To See and Not See," by Oliver Sacks, the reader is introduced to the subject of the essay, a fifty-year-old man named Virgil, who has been blind from early childhood. Virgil, at the urging of his fiancee, submits himself to a surgery that will help him regain his sight. When Sacks hears about Virgil's case, he is immediately interested and wants to fly to Oklahoma to meet Virgil as soon as possible. Sacks had read of a few other cases, such as Valvo's patient H.S. and Gregory's patient S.B., in which the subjects had a great deal of difficulty adjusting from the world of the blind to the world of sighted. It is Sacks' intent to visit Virgil and "not just test Virgil, but to see how he managed in real life, inside his house, outside, in nat

Sacks, Oliver. An Anthropologist on Mars. New York: Vintage Books, 1995.

It is Sacks' goal to introduce the reader to Virgil and let him decide whether the "miraculous restoration of sight to a blind man," may have in fact been a "gift transformed to a curse" (Sacks 151). Sacks uses several different rhetorical strategies in order to enhance the reader's perception of Virgil's life and the hardships he has to endure. One of the most powerful methods Sacks employs is the use of analogy. Sacks compares Virgil to an infant, "moving his hand to and fro before his eyes, waggling his head, turning it this way and that," as he explores the rooms of his house (127). This analogy is further enhanced by the image of Virgil concentrating on the "child's wooden formboard, with large, simple blocks--square, triangle, circle, and rectangle" (Sacks 126). Sacks later informs the reader that this image is a false image. Although Virgil must learn the same things a baby learns, he "is not on the same starting line, neurologically speaking" (140). Virgil alre!

lane, he begins observing Virgil, describing him as being "of medium height, but exceedingly fat" (116). Sacks is then taken to Virgil and Amy's house where Sacks watches as Virgil "caneless, walked by himself up to the front door, pulled out his key, grasped the doorknob, unlocked the door, and opened it" (Sacks 120). It was only later that Virgil explained that this feat was his "showpiece." He had been practicing it since the day after his surgery. Sacks recounts how Virgil interacts with the world while at the zoo, at a restaurant, and in his own home. After a number of days of observation, Sacks leaves and Virgil is once again left on his own to forge his way through life.

In Sack's preface, he claims he wants to explore his "subject's lives as they live in the real world"

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1246
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)