First Scene Saramago

In this first scene, Saramago is setting the scene basically. He goes on to describe what the thief is thinking in his head. He explains all of the thoughts that are racing through his head! He pretty much just goes on about all the horrible things that could happen and as if a switch was flipped he went blind. As if someone just snapped their fingers. He wanted to portray how fast and random the blindness can take control of you. So he sets the scene up focusing on something else and then throws a twist and has the thief become blind.