When first viewing the front page of Cockeyed there are several messages that the page appears to display. First, the title of the book “Cockeyed” is scrawled on the top left corner of the cover page, which comes across as messy and rushed. Second, there is the man with no face, but with glasses, who stands closer to the right side of the page than the left side and who is holding a walking cane in between his arm and his body. This image indicates that the story will follow a man who will maintain a certain level of anonymity, and that the story might be in reference to the perspective of a group. The walking cane and the glasses demonstrate that the story will center on Ryan Knighton, a man who is blind. Third, the man’s body is pointed towards the reader, which establishes a connection between the man and the outside world. The man stands, expectantly waiting for someone to read his story.
Then, there is an eyeball attached to the bottom of the walking stick, and reviews listed that mention the light-hearted and amusing manner in which Knighton writes his story. The eyeball, the reviews on the back of the page, and the use of a scrawled font establish a level of dark humour that the book promises to continue. Lastly, before Ryan Knighton starts his story there is page on which a quote from Metamorphoses, by Ovid, refers to a physical change. The quote from Metamophoses suggests that Knighton’s memoir will be about a physical change the author will experience. This quote and other sections of the peritext allude to a story that will be both dark and humorous.
Before the story even begins, Knighton has created context as to what his story is about. The context includes that Knighton is not defeated and is not defined by his blindness. This is made evident by the use of humour; the humour in the peritext tells consumers to not pity and to not devalue his story. The peritext addresses Knighton’s disability and indicates that the story will concentrate on the way in which Knighton as an individual and Knighton’s disability develop.
