Find the extended metaphor in ch 9 about the spider and the fly. How does it relate to Billy, his blindness, and his unsuccessful operation?

Reuven watches a spider catch a housefly caught in the nearly invisible strands of a web. Since it is one of the bare details in this chapter, the spider and the housefly that Reuven watch could be taken as symbolic details. However, symbolic interpretations cannot be given too much weight; at best, the housefly can suggest how each of the characters is bound by invisible forces that limit their behavior.