Bigotry In Cathedral

Stephan Labossiere, a relationship coach states, “Many times we are our worst enemy. If

we could learn to conquer ourselves, then we will have a much easier time overcoming the

obstacles that are in front of us.” Most people, during their time in this world, face a challenge or

fear that will determine who they truly are. Some people push themselves to overcome that

certain challenge while others die knowing it is something they could not achieve. The people

that persevere through the challenge will tell one it took days of practice with support from

others to help keep them going. In the short story, “Cathedral,” by Raymond Carver, the narrator

defeats his jealousy, discomfort, and prejudice feelings through the character of Robert, who is

bind, displaying the limitations of bigotry.

The narrator throughout “Cathedral” is full of jealousy. Carver begins with am exposition

about the narrator's wife and her past lover, the officer. His wife is not happy to be an Air Force

officer’s wife so she tries committing suicide but instead just got sick and threw up. The narrator

says, “Her officer why should he have a name? He was the childhood sweetheart,”(Carver2). The

narrator is jealous that the officer is his wife’s childhood sweetheart also he shows some anger

towards him like he is to blame for his wife’s past. When the blind man arrives at the narrator’s

house and he gets a glance of the blind man for the first time right away Carver writes, “This

blind man, feature this, he was wearing a full beard! A beard on a blind man! Too much, I say”

Lavehim2

(Carver4). The narrator judges the blind man and makes fun of his appearance to satisfy himself

this clearly displays his jealousy and bigotry.

In addition, the narrator shares one joke with his wife. As they are talking in the kitchen

he tells his wife, “Maybe I could take him bowling” (3), obviously being inappropriate and

making a fool of the blind man. Carver shows the readers who the narrator truly is by

his
thoughts and descriptions of other characters like his wife and the blind man. Displaying his
bigotry and jealousy from his jokes, however his wife doesn't appreciate his joke and wants him
to stop with his jealousy and nonsense comments. Carver has her say, “If you love me. You can
do this for me.

If you don’t like me, okay. But if you had a friend, any friend, and the friend

came to visit, I’d make him feel comfortable”(pg3). Carver brings in the narrator’s wife as

support, to give the narrator a reason to defeat his jealousy and bigotry toward the blind man and

make sure he will have a comfortable stay.

Furthermore, the narrator deals with his discomfort towards the blind man as he stays at

his house. The narrator just sitting listening to his wife and blind man speak feeling awkward

about how to join the conversation or what to say. He asks the blind man if he had a good train

ride and which side of the train did he sit on? His wife was not happy with what he asked like

why does it matter which side of the train he sat on, yet we see how the narrator is trying to

interact with the blind man and start a conversation. They all head towards the dinner table the

narrator helps spread butter on bread for the blind man. They all start eating and no one talks at

all. The narrator feels the discomfort and just admires the way the blind man finds everything on

his plate and eats. As awkward as the meal was it was a way of bonding and connecting as Cesar

Chavez co-founded the National Farm Workers Association says, “If you really want to make

a
friend, go to someone's house and eat with him the people that give you their food give you their

Lavehim3

heart.” Carver shows a strong message from the narrator's actions for Robert during the meal,
one should always be treated respectfully and feel comfortable no matter your feelings or
intolerance towards them.
Another discomfortable situation for the narrator is when they were sitting on the couch
and his wife left the two of them as she went upstairs. The narrator and Robert start smoking
dope together. For the narrator this is his way of connecting and being able to get rid of the
awkwardness. As they smoke and talk the narrator’s discomfort becomes less of a problem so he
stays up longer with Robert as his wife fell asleep. The narrator defeats his discomfort and tries
to open up to the blind man. He explains to him what is on TV and helps him understand what is
being shown. By Carver doing this it shows the narrator starting to overcome his bigotry and
trying to understand Robert.