Examples Of Blindness In Cathedral By Raymond Carver

Blind Men Can See Why would a blind man choose to marry a woman who he cannot see, and why would the woman marry a man who cannot praise her outer beauty? “Imagine a woman who could never see herself as she was seen in the eyes of the man who she loves. A woman who could go on day after day and never receive the smallest compliment from her beloved”, well just imagine how her beloved must have felt that he could not describe, to his love, what he was able to see (Nadelhaft, 2008, p. 419). In Cathedral, Raymond Carver introduces such a man, Robert the blind man. A blind man, which Carver uses touch and imagery to describe what he is able to perceive. As Robert describes the times that he has lived, the positions that he has held, and the

While being blind can be difficult and defined as having a disability, blindness can enhance what a person actually sees, no matter when the blindness occurs. Blindness, an ability for individuals to see the true nature of others. An ability that people would desire, without knowing what it would entail, people would yearn to see into others eyes, especially the eyes of their beloved. Well, Raymond Carver did just that, he presented his blind man, Robert, as a man who can see. Robert saw through the use of his hands; in turn he used his ability to teach those close to him about his vision. As in the sentence “On her last day in the office, the blind man asked if he could touch her face, he touched his fingers to every part of her face, her nose—even her neck (Nadelhaft, 2008, p. 417)! Through the use of eloquent and descriptive dialogue, Carver, was able to prove to the audience that Robert did see and therefore, knew the beauty of his loved one, Beulah, and of his lifelong

But there was something different about them; too much white in the iris, and the pupils seemed to move around in the sockets without his knowing it or being able to stop it”, to depict the reality of Robert’s condition. Carver in turn communicates his belief as well the comprehension to the audience that blind men do have vision (Nadelhaft, 2008, p. 421). Carver makes his audience understand the amount of sight Robert truly has by describing the positions that he held in his life such as ham radio operator and Amway distributor, which suggests that he maintained his abilities to be normal and not be treated like someone who was disabled. Consequently, through the ongoing conversation within the story, Robert shared his ability to teach others by having “Bub” close his eyes and feel his way through the drawing, “his fingers rode my fingers as my hand went over the paper. It was like nothing else in my life up to now. Then he said, “I think that’s it. I think you got it,” he said. “Take a look” (Nadelhaft, 2008, p. 428). Enhancing once again the ability for the audience to understand how those that are blind are able to determine what they see and encourage others to do the