Things Not Seen

The main topic of the story is what it’s like to be invisible, both physically and emotionally. Before he becomes invisible, Bobby feels that way at home and school. He resents how his parents make decisions about him without consulting him; at school, he’s ignored by popular students whom he’d like to get to know. His friend Alicia also feels invisible because most of her companions abandoned her after she became blind.

Their sense of being unimportant to others reflects a larger social concern: the feeling of being ignored that many underrepresented groups experience in society at large. Like popular kids in school who pay no attention to those less popular, dominant groups in cities, states, and nations often look down on, disregard, or abuse those deemed less important or less valuable.

Alicia’s feeling of invisibility is not unusual among people with disabilities. She remarks that most of her friends disappeared after she became blind, indicating that it’s hard to be seen and understood when people intentionally look away. In the story, it takes another person with a disability—Bobby, who’s invisible—to fully appreciate her. Through Bobby and Alicia’s eyes, the author describes what it might be like for two reasonably successful and privileged young people to suddenly lose their status and find themselves ignored.