The main character of "Vision out of the Corner of One Eye ", a short story by Luisa
Valezuela, goes through a complete one hundred-eighty degree change over the course of
the story.
In the beginning of the story, the main character is completely distraught. A man
on the bus continues to fondle her, but rather than call attention to him she would
rather save face for him. She hates the situation but she wants to believe he's a good
person so she begins to make excuses for him: "maybe he didn't do it on purpose" or
"maybe his right hand didn't know what his left hand was up to". All the while trusting
, and having her trust broken.
The second phase the main character went through was the attempt to flee. When she
finally tried wiggling out of his reach it just gives him a better angle to touch her.
As she moved away, he was right there. She was like a fox hunted by wild dogs. No
matter where she went, she was trapped.
The final phase was getting even. She figured she would put her hand on his butt
and show him how it felt to molested. It turns out, she got more than the satisfaction
of revenge, but also his wallet.
The main character has lots of moral and emotional choices to make. Though in the
beginning she wants nothing more than to put the incident behind her, by the end she
ironically throws all of her morals out the window and steals the man's wallet.
|