Both men's appearance are said to repel the young, yet they attempt to safeguard their 'just' reputations -- Blindy even says directly that he earned his nickname in his infamous fight: "you seen me earn it" (495). Blindy says that Willie Sawyer's castrating him, although not blinding him was 'too much' during his final fight, as if bargaining with fate.

Eventually, some compassionate individual steps in to defend the reputation of the old men. In "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place" the older waiter takes the old man's side when the younger waiter casts aspersions on the old man's lack of sexual prowess -- because, it is implied that he also lives alone in similar depression and isolation. Frank the bartender tells the story of Blindy's final fight. This is essential given that even if they men believe their fates are 'just' in some fashion, they are haunted by incomplete business in...
[ View Full Essay]