Final answer:
The figurative use of 'blind' in describing the narrator's street hints at themes of disconnection and the inability to see the truth.
Step-by-step explanation:
The word "blind" used to describe the narrator's street in the beginning of the story resonates deeply with the themes present throughout the text. In literature, the word "blind" can carry figurative meanings beyond its literal sense of lacking vision. It often connotes a lack of understanding, insight, or an obliviousness to the true nature of things.
Considering the patterns of connotation in the surrounding descriptive language that includes terms like "vacant eye-like windows" and "rank," we can infer a motif of decay, death, and blindness to the reality of decline that pervades the story. The narrator's setting underlines a fundamental disconnection between the perceivable surface and the underlying truth. Similarly, other sensory descriptions, such as the comparison to "the after-dream of the reveller upon opium," hint at a distorted or impaired perception of reality that could be likened to being 'blind' to the harshness of the world.
This thematic 'blindness' is reinforced through the imagery of obscured or obscured natural surroundings, described as being clouded by the byproducts of human industry or darkened by the encroaching night, contributing to the gloomy tone of the story. Such motifs encapsulate not only the physical state of the environment but also metaphorically represent the mental or emotional states of the characters within it.
Furthermore, the use of darkness and obfuscation reflects an overarching tone of desolation and disillusionment depicted in the narrator's observations. Physical and mental darkness interplay, leading the reader to question the accuracy of perception and the reliability of the narrative voice, suggesting that just as a street can be 'blind,' so too can the individuals navigating it.