Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral” is fascinating short story written in 1983. As I indulged in the story I was somewhat surprised by the narrators thoughts and actions. As I read the story again I started to understand the actions of the unnamed narrator and how they related to the theme. I have dislike for the narrator in this story, but I am glad that he had the epiphany that he had at the end of the story and can forgive him for his actions.
It is clear that the narrator feels very uncomfortable about a blind man who he has never met before coming to his house. At the beginning of the short story the narrator is waiting for the blind man to arrive at his house. The narrator has informed me that Robert, the blind man, has had a long relationship with his wife. The narrator states, “My idea of blindness came form the movies. In the movies, the blind moved slow and never laughed. Sometimes they were led by seeing-eye dogs. A blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to.” I find that this statement suggests that the narrator is so close-minded that he feels that Robert, just because he is blind is not equal as a human. I didn’t particularly like the narrator at the beginning of the story because his attitude towards Robert gave me a feeling that he is a self-centered and mean man. However, I think that the narrator’s specific dislike of Robert didn’t just appear out of nowhere. The narrator’s feelings towards Robert may have come from Robert’s past history with his wife, and the narrators inability to form emotional relationships. Robert has been the narrator’s wife’s best friend for long before they even got married. His wife and Robert used to work for each other and have been sending long tapes to each other ever since. The narrator states, “On her last day in the office, the blind man asked if he could touch her face. She agreed to this. She told me he touched his fingers to every part of her face, her nose-even her neck! She never forgot it.” To me this says that the narrator feels uncomfortable about the fact that this man who has had such a history with his wife is visiting, and he may even be slightly jealous of Robert. I also feel as if while the narrator talks harshly about Roberts’ relationship with his recently deceased wife, saying things like, “They’d married, lived and worked together, slept together--had sex, sure—and then the blind man had to bury her. All this without his having ever seen what the goddamned woman looked like. It was beyond my understanding.” This thought shows that the narrator puts all his focus on the physical aspects of a relationship and overlooks the emotional. I think this might frustrate the narrator because even with all the physical barriers that he seems to think that Robert had with his late wife, deep down he knows he still does not have as deep of a relationship with his own wife minus all the “barriers”. I feel as if this jealousy is motivating the narrator to have disdain towards Robert. However, it’s hard for me to fell sympathetic towards the narrator because Robert and …show more content…
The narrator blatantly judging Robert because he was blind highlights many people’s attitudes today. I see people underestimate, exclude, and even make fun of other humans almost every day because they do not meet their physical expectations or because they may fall into a certain category. It sickens me to see this, but sadly I feel like the majority of people, especially young people, have this mindset. As a child I was picked on at school, and it was very unpleasant. I guess that is that might be the reason I dislike the narrator. If only more people would have an epiphany like the narrator, then the world would definitely be a better place. In conclusion I enjoyed reading “Cathedral” very much. I liked how Carver used a first person point of view to allow us to see the narrator’s thoughts. Carver did a good job using the characters the characters’ interactions to develop the theme of the story. Most of all I enjoyed “Cathedral” because it got evoked my emotions and got me
It is clear that the narrator feels very uncomfortable about a blind man who he has never met before coming to his house. At the beginning of the short story the narrator is waiting for the blind man to arrive at his house. The narrator has informed me that Robert, the blind man, has had a long relationship with his wife. The narrator states, “My idea of blindness came form the movies. In the movies, the blind moved slow and never laughed. Sometimes they were led by seeing-eye dogs. A blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to.” I find that this statement suggests that the narrator is so close-minded that he feels that Robert, just because he is blind is not equal as a human. I didn’t particularly like the narrator at the beginning of the story because his attitude towards Robert gave me a feeling that he is a self-centered and mean man. However, I think that the narrator’s specific dislike of Robert didn’t just appear out of nowhere. The narrator’s feelings towards Robert may have come from Robert’s past history with his wife, and the narrators inability to form emotional relationships. Robert has been the narrator’s wife’s best friend for long before they even got married. His wife and Robert used to work for each other and have been sending long tapes to each other ever since. The narrator states, “On her last day in the office, the blind man asked if he could touch her face. She agreed to this. She told me he touched his fingers to every part of her face, her nose-even her neck! She never forgot it.” To me this says that the narrator feels uncomfortable about the fact that this man who has had such a history with his wife is visiting, and he may even be slightly jealous of Robert. I also feel as if while the narrator talks harshly about Roberts’ relationship with his recently deceased wife, saying things like, “They’d married, lived and worked together, slept together--had sex, sure—and then the blind man had to bury her. All this without his having ever seen what the goddamned woman looked like. It was beyond my understanding.” This thought shows that the narrator puts all his focus on the physical aspects of a relationship and overlooks the emotional. I think this might frustrate the narrator because even with all the physical barriers that he seems to think that Robert had with his late wife, deep down he knows he still does not have as deep of a relationship with his own wife minus all the “barriers”. I feel as if this jealousy is motivating the narrator to have disdain towards Robert. However, it’s hard for me to fell sympathetic towards the narrator because Robert and …show more content…
The narrator blatantly judging Robert because he was blind highlights many people’s attitudes today. I see people underestimate, exclude, and even make fun of other humans almost every day because they do not meet their physical expectations or because they may fall into a certain category. It sickens me to see this, but sadly I feel like the majority of people, especially young people, have this mindset. As a child I was picked on at school, and it was very unpleasant. I guess that is that might be the reason I dislike the narrator. If only more people would have an epiphany like the narrator, then the world would definitely be a better place. In conclusion I enjoyed reading “Cathedral” very much. I liked how Carver used a first person point of view to allow us to see the narrator’s thoughts. Carver did a good job using the characters the characters’ interactions to develop the theme of the story. Most of all I enjoyed “Cathedral” because it got evoked my emotions and got me