“A Man Who Had No Eyes” by MacKinlay Kantor Page 131
Vocabulary:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Half-furtive (you may just find furtive)
Futile
Immaculate
Boorish
Inquisitive
Reminiscence
Dumbly
Malacca (walking stick)
Questions:
1. How does Mr. Parsons know a blind person is coming down the avenue at the beginning of the
story?
2. In your own words give a summary of the beggar’s story. What lie does the beggar tell?
3. The beggar is described as having “ . . .swallowed—a studied sob.” What does this mean? Why
does the beggar do this?
4. Compare the beggar’s attitude towards life with Mr. Parsons’. Why do you think their attitudes
are so different?
5. The writer uses a Surprise Ending in this story. Although the ending is a surprise, it must seem
reasonable to the reader. Skim the story to find the hints and clues the writer has included in
the story to make the ending seem logical. These hints are called Foreshadowing.