In The Visit, by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, the fictional town of Güllen is turned upside down by the offer of immense wealth from the benefactress Claire Zachanassian, who returns to her hometown for a visit. However, to receive this money, the citizens must murder one of their own, a man named Alfred Ill. While the citizens initially decide not to violate their moral codes by committing murder, they all become metaphorically "blind" to murder. harsh reality: money matters more to them than high morality. While the citizens try to justify their actions by calling Ill a twisted man for what he did to Claire when they were young, what he did in his past doesn't mean he deserves to be murdered, which the citizens of Güllen do not understand. The uses of sight throughout the drama show the citizens' final downward spiral toward greed and bloodlust. In The Visit of Friedrich Dürrenmatt, the absence of physical and metaphorical sight throughout Güllen's city foreshadows the murder of Alfred III and symbolizes the city's capacity to become blind to the sin it has committed. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Throughout the drama, Dürrenmatt uses sight to foreshadow certain aspects of Ill's murder before they occur. The clearest example of Ill's death being foretold occurs when Claire first steps off the train towards Güllen. From the first conversation between her and Ill upon her arrival, it is revealed that Claire called Ill her "black panther" when they were teenagers. While this conversation is going on, Claire's butler Moby and his bullies Roby and Toby are carrying her things off the train. With her luggage and a large coffin, Claire brings a black panther in a cage. The animal is transported within its confines to the Golden Apostle, and later in Act II the panther somehow frees itself. The citizens, now all equipped with large rifles, begin the search to hunt and kill the panther. After Ill has conversations with the mayor and the policeman about Claire's offer, both of whom respond with weak promises to stay on Ill's side, someone kills the panther in front of the store. Ill. No one except Ill sees the meaning of this event: by killing the panther, they foreshadow his murder. He attempts to reveal his feelings to some of the townspeople during the panther's funeral march, boldly saying, "It is for my death that you repeat this song, for my death!" (Dürrenmatt, 60). Locals deny Ill's accusations and accuse him of overreacting to the situation, when in reality he had every reason to fear for his life. Dürrenmatt includes the symbol of the black panther to represent how easy it is for citizens to blindly succumb to their greed. Claire brings the panther with her to symbolize evil and most likely released the panther herself to indirectly trick the townspeople into playing along with her game. Considering the fact that no one other than Ill sees through a such a brutal metaphor, it seems that the townspeople are too blind to realize that they are about to commit a mortal sin for the acquisition of immense wealth and prosperity for their town. Another example of Ill's death being foretold occurs when Claire meets the Doctor for the first time. When Claire meets Doctor Nüsslin, she questions him about certain aspects of his job: CLAIRE. Interesting. Do you prepare death certificates?DOCTOR. Death certificates?CLEAR. When someone loses their life. DOCTOR. Yes, I do.CLAIRE. The next time you determine the cause of death, make it a heart attack (17). In Act III, shortly after Güllen's men murder Ill, Doctor Nüsslin rises from the crowd to name the cause of Ill's death, declaring: "Heart attack" (109). This blatant foreshadowing by Claire reveals that she likely planned every aspect of Ill's murder before she arrived in town. Whether it was bringing a coffin with her or releasing the panther to be hunted and killed by the citizens, it's understandable that Claire knew she wanted me to die before getting off the train. It can be argued that Claire wanted people to see through her attempts at foreshadowing, as she made them very obvious, but as the townspeople ultimately changed their minds and murdered Ill, her wish ended up being granted. Throughout The Visit, Ill's death is announced several times, both by the inhabitants and by Claire Zachanassian. The citizens of Güllen are metaphorically blinded to the true extent of their greed after hearing Claire Zachanassian's offer to solve their financial problems. When Claire first offers the city of Güllen a billion dollars to share between the citizens and the city, they are delighted at the idea of ​​being out of their financial difficulties. This proposal makes the city “blinded” by its greed. While the citizens are busy fantasizing about how they will spend the money they receive in this proposal, Claire begins to tell them her story with Ill. She tells them how she and Ill had conceived a child when they were teenagers, and Ill denied it. paternity when he is brought to justice for his actions. She then brings out the two blind eunuchs, Koby and Loby, whom she also took with her to Güllen. They share that I bribed them with a liter of schnapps to lie in front of the judge and say they were the father of Claire's child. After revealing these details, Claire asks them to describe their punishment for the crime: CLAIRE. Now tell them what I did to you, Koby and Loby.BUTLER. Tell them. THE PAIR. The lady found us, the lady found us.BUTLER. That's correct. Claire Zachanassian found you. Sent research teams for you all over the world. Jakob Duckling had emigrated to Canada, Walter Perch to Australia. But she found you. And what did she do with you then? THE PAIR. She gave us Toby and Roby, she gave us Toby and RobyBUTLER. And what did Toby and Roby do to you?THE PAIR. Castrated and blinded us, castrated and blinded us (33-34). During this conversation, it is confessed that Claire blinded these men for committing perjury when she was a teenager. When Koby and Loby committed perjury, they “blinded” themselves to the reality of the situation in which they were involved. While this was a conscious choice made by both men, the fact that they made it in the first place and were literally blinded as a result, shows how metaphorically blinded they were by their greed . An important comparison can be made between the citizens of Güllen and Koby and Loby: they are both blinded by their greed. Even though the citizens' greed is much greater than that of Koby and Loby, the similarities far outweigh the differences. Dürrenmatt includes this comparison to show how greed can easily blind people and inspire them to do terrible things; in the case of the citizens it is the murder of Ill, and in the case of Koby and Loby it is perjury. The blindness of citizens to the reality of the situation continues throughout the drama..