Point of View to Enable the Story to Be Experienced in Cathedral

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Point of View to Enable the Story to Be Experienced in Cathedral

Raymond Carver's "Cathedral," a story that entails a man's epiphany about a misplaced prejudice, is narrated from the first person point of view to enable the reader to fully understand the narrator's thoughts. However, in William Faulkner's "A Rose For Emily" just the opposite is true. In Faulkner's story, the narrator has a limited third person point of view which allows the reader to dodge any emotional ties with Emily, the main character, and to form his own ideas about Emily's actions. Both story's meanings rely on the fact that the author's choice of point of view gives the reader the ability to experience the narrator's epiphany as the narrator does.

In "Cathedral," the narrator shares his feelings towards meeting his wife's blind friend. This "emotional briefing" gives the reader a chance to "bond" with the narrator. The reader gets an insight into how the narrator thinks and feels, and , thus enabling the reader to understand and sympathize with the narrator. The reader is able to make assumpt...

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