Seeing Another Person

In the novel Holding up the Universe, Niven describes the different ways of seeing people, including Jack’s ability to see Libby because he loves her. For instance, some people see only a person’s appearance and judge them by what is on the outside. In Jack’s case, he is not able to make much sense out of a person’s facial characteristics. Thus, he must focus on other aspects of that person for him to recognize them. Jack breaks up with Libby because he fears that he will never be able to see her. However, in the end, he realizes that she is the only person he is able to fully see.

When people observe Libby, they often see or focus only on her weight. For instance, when Caroline speaks to Libby for the first time, she remembers Libby as “the girl...