Does Timothy really think Phillip will get his eyesight back? Explain your answer with textual evidence.

No. Timothy probably believes that Phillip's loss of vision is permanent, but the kind old man is hesitant to tell Phillip that, knowing it would upset him deeply. Let's find some textual evidence for this.

First, notice in Chapter 7, when Phillip realizes that Timothy is holding something back from him. They've just made it from their raft onto the island, and Phillip had asked Timothy whether schooners would come by the island to rescue...

No. Timothy probably believes that Phillip's loss of vision is permanent, but the kind old man is hesitant to tell Phillip that, knowing it would upset him deeply. Let's find some textual evidence for this.

First, notice in Chapter 7, when Phillip realizes that Timothy is holding something back from him. They've just made it from their raft onto the island, and Phillip had asked Timothy whether schooners would come by the island to rescue them. Instead of saying yes or no, Timothy says that there are fish nearby, and people who fish will follow the fish. It's his kind way of avoiding the hurtful truth that they will probably not be rescued soon. Phillip considers this carefully, paying attention to the tone of Timothy's voice, and realizes that he's hiding the truth. In another discussion later in the chapter, Phillip realizes this:

"I was beginning to learn that [Timothy] had a way of being honest while still being dishonest."

What he means is that Timothy doesn't lie, but at the same time, he leaves the truth unstated and therefore allows Phillip to hold onto false hope. Timothy even strives to focus on the positive things in general--like when he reminds Phillip that his hands aren't blind as they're making the sleeping mats.

Now that we've established Timothy's way of avoiding painful truths, let's look at how they deal with the issue of Phillip's loss of vision.

In Chapter 10, Phillip asks Timothy to tell him again the story of Timothy's friend who lost his sight, then regained it. At that point, Timothy seems to lie and tell Phillip that his friend took several months to get his sight back. Angered, Phillip reminds Timothy that earlier, the story was that it only took a few days for the friend to recover. And then Timothy changes the subject, taking Phillip's mind off the matter. This kind of evasion seems to indicate that Timothy has no true faith in the notion that Phillip might see again.