to those who have watched "the book of eli",even as of now,theres still a big debate over the internet (specially in the internet movie database website) if eli was really blind,or was not.and theres an even more bigger debate about what is the moral or the point of the story (there was even one debate indicating if eli was catholic or a muslim).back to the question,personally,id say eli was blind since there are a lot of instances in the movie that gives clues that he is blind.post your thoughts on this.