John Dunn's essay on Hulga

who see through to nothing.” First, the italicized preposition highlights an internal conflict. Unconsciously she looks “away” and “down” as if in avoidance. But here, the preposition “through” would suggest that she thinks that her perception penetrates reality to its essence, as opposed to avoiding it. This contradicts the comment the narrator makes, “for she seldom paid close attention to her surroundings.” Next, we find that she does have illusions, because the “green swelling lake” is an illusion brought about by her nearsightedness. Strangely, once she is stripped of her glasses, she is also, by the end of the story, stripped of her leg, and even her mask of ugliness. In this sense, Poin...