Dark Imagery In 'Blindness' By Yoshimoto

At the beginning of the story, dark imagery is prominent and is commonly combined with a gloomy event to portray Mikage’s feelings. When her grandmother passes away, she describes her experience and feelings of loneliness similar to “the blackness of the cosmos” (Kitchen). This demonstrates the vulnerability of humans and how it can lead to a person referring to an experience with “blackness” (Kitchen). Using this imagery, Yoshimoto is able to produce a vivid picture of darkness with the exception of some stars shining light. This refers to how Mikage generally felt lonely and antisocial at the time but there were of course some bright spots. These bright spots refer to Mikage’s use of household kitchen utilities and cooking utensils as a sort
When Yuichi’s mother Eriko dies, Mikage states how she wants to give up on life and then reflects on Eriko’s legacy. Reminiscing, Mikage states, “truly great people emit a light that warms the hearts of those around them. When that light has been put out, a heavy shadow of despair descends” (Kitchen). Here the use of light once again is coupled with this positive aspect of a negative event. In this case, although Mikage was vulnerable to Eriko’s death, after having her negative perspective, she approached the situation in a different way and thus perceived and reacted to it differently. Later, when Mikage and Yuichi rebuild their friendship, Mikage describes Yuichi’s face as “radiating a dim glow” (Kitchen). This dim glow acts as a representation that although their situation with Eriko’s death was so tragic, there was a sense of reconnection between Mikage and Yuichi, allowing for them to be there for each other. This again shows how the situation the two experienced was bad, but when they created a support system in their most vulnerable moment, it led to this positive reconnection between the two. Continuing to battle the death of Eriko, Mikage acquires a new job as a cooking assistant. Mikage has always looked at household kitchen utensils or objects for comfort, and she embraces that interest here. This again shows how Mikage is approaching the situation in a different way, and rather than moping around doing nothing she is getting herself a job at a place where she has always found comfort