Carvers Cathedral
Plato’s “Myth of the Cave” and Carver’s Cathedral provide insight into parallel words. The protagonists in each story are trapped in a world of ignorance because each is comfortable in the dark, and fearful of what knowledge a light might bring. They are reluctant to venture into unfamiliar territory. Fortunately the narrator in the Cathedral is forced by circumstances to take a risk. This risk leads him into new world of insight and understanding.
The narrator in “The Cathedral” begins the story with the issue of hesitation in seeing the light. The light in this story just like the light in Plato’s “Myth of the Cave” represents reality. The narrator expresses the fear of expressing reality when he said “ I wasn’t enthusiastic about his visit. He was no one I knew. And his being blind bothered me. My idea of blindness came from the movies. In the movies, the blind moved slowly and never laughed. Sometimes they were led by seeing eye-dogs. A blind man in my house was not something I look forward to”. (Page 98). The narrator felt that being blind was like being in a type of prison and the preconceived notion of self-imprisonment was frightening to him. He felt that blindness was exactly like being a prisoner in Plato’s Cave, a scary world where no light ever penetrated. Unfortunately, the husband is imprisoned in his own ignorance. His view of blindness had come from Hollywood’s portrayal of blind people. As far as he is concerned, his situation is completely normal. He knows there are lots of people just like him.
In “The Cathedral” the extent of the husband’s ignorance or naiveté is extremely irritating. When his wife tells him the beautiful story of the blind man’s romantic relationship with his wife Beulah, all he could think of is “ What a pitiful life this woman must have led. Imagine a woman who could never see herself as she was seen in the eyes of her loved one. A woman who could on day after day and never see the smallest compliment from her beloved. A woman whose husband could never read the expression on her face, be it misery or something better”. (Page 100). But the blind man had sight in the form of intuitiveness. This sight gave him greater vision than the sighted man.
The blind man had a sense of and source of reality in the truth and strength of the relationship. This man was unlike the prisoners in the cav...
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... when he closes his eyes in order to imagine and draw the cathedral. ”Close your eyes now, the blind man said to me. I did it. I closed them just like he said. Are they closed? He said. Don’t fudge. They are closed, I said. Keep them that way, he said. He said, don’t stop now. Draw. So we kept on with it. His fingers rode my fingers as my hand went over the paper. It was 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. What do you think? But I had my eyes closed. I thought I would keep them that way for a little longer. I thought it was something I ought to do. Well, he said. Are you looking? My eyes were still closed. I was in my house. I knew that. But, I didn’t feel like I was inside anything. It’s really something I said”. (Page 108). By becoming blind he sees clearly how the blind man’s world really is. Being temporarily blind opens his eyes to the world around him. He can understand the handicap, with understanding comes compassion, and the compassion has caused him to develop new insight into the world around him. Interaction with the blind man has allowed him to see, and has removed him from his own personal cave.
Raymond Carver’s short story “Cathedral” opens with a narrator whose wife has invited a blind friend to spend the night. The narrator depersonalizes the man right off the bat and repeatedly throughout the story by referring to him, not by name, but as “the blind man” (Carver 513). He admits that hi...
The blind man is appealing to readers because of the fact that he proves to be a good friend and listener to the narrator’s wife. The wife and blind man have kept in touch by exchanging audio tapes over the years. The wife feels comfortable sharing all aspects of her life with him. The husband expands on this by saying “She and I began going out, and of course she told her blind man about it” (5). This quote proves that the blind man provides a sense of comfort to the wife who cannot find the same sense of security in her own husband. The blind man is friendly and makes an attempt to befriend the husband even though he is consistently rude to him. The blind man tells the narrator he will stay up with him to talk even after his wife has gone to sleep. He says he feels “like me and her monopolized the evening” (83). The blind man respectfully says to the narrator “[y]ou’re my host” and wants to be fair and make sure the husband doesn’t feel left out during his visit (102). He is also very understanding and patient with the husband. This characteristic is especially proven when the narrator tries, but fails at explaining the appearance of a cathedral to the blind man. He apologizes for not doing a good job. The blind man understands and reassures him by saying “I get it, bub. It’s okay. It happens. Don’t worry about it” (110). He is aware that his
The story is about a blind man who visits a married couple. He is an old friend of the wife, but the husband does not look forward to see the blind man (called Robert) because he does not know what to expect. He has never known any blind persons and his picture of these is based on a very little foundation. He has a lot of prejudices against Robert, but during his visit he changes his opinion about him. While watching TV together they get each other to know better and the husband finds out that he actually likes his company. They watch a program about cathedrals and while talking about cathedrals, Robert says that he does not even know how a cathedral looks like. The husband tries to explain what a cathedral is and how it is built, but Robert does not understand it. Therefore he suggests that they can draw one together. In that way Robert gets a picture of a cathedral in his mind and even though it is not as good as seeing it with his own eyes, it is good enough to give him an idea of what a cathedral is.
In the short story “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver, the narrator, Bub, is as metaphorically blind as his guest, Robert, is literally blind. Bub has many unwarranted misconceptions about life, blind people in particular. He also has many insecurities that prevent him from getting too close to people. Through his interaction with Robert, Bub is able to open his mind and let go of his self-doubt for a moment and see the world in a different light.
Upon reading Raymond Carver's short story of the Cathedral one will notice the literary devices used in the short story. When analyzing the story completely, one then understands the themes, motifs, metaphors, and the overall point of the piece. This leaves the reader with an appreciation of the story and a feeling of complete satisfaction.
In the story "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver, the main character, goes through a major personal transformation. At the beginning of the story, his opinions of others are filled with stereotypes, discrimination and prejudice. Through interaction with his wife's blind friend Robert, his attitude and outlook on life changes. Although at first he seemed afraid to associate with a blind man, Robert's outgoing personality left him with virtually no choice. During Robert's visit, he proved to be a normal man, and showed the speaker that by closing his eyes, he could open his mind.
The narrator’s prejudice makes him emotionally blind. His inability to see past Robert’s disability stops him from seeing the reality of any relationship or person in the story. And while he admits some things are simply beyond his understanding, he is unaware he is so completely blind to the reality of the world.
In Raymond Carver's "Cathedral," the husband's view of blind men is changed when he encounters his wife's long time friend, Robert. His narrow minded views and prejudice thoughts of one stereotype are altered by a single experience he has with Robert. The husband is changed when he thinks he personally sees the blind man's world. Somehow, the blind man breaks through all of the husband's jealousy, incompetence for discernment, and prejudgments in a single moment of understanding.
By becoming close with Robert, the man in this story experienced what was necessary to gain an understanding of what life is like for the blind. The man began to draw the cathedral to try and help Robert visualize what one looked like. What he didn't realize at the time was that Robert was helping him to visualize what blindness felt like. Bibliography: Carver, Raymond. "Cathedral".
...l of open-mindedness. “Cathedral” concerns the change in one man’s understanding of himself and the world. From the start of the story the narrator is restricted in his understanding to accept the blind man just as his wife has. He cannot fully wrap around the idea of what makes Robert so special. Until, that is, that the narrator starts drawing the cathedral which starts off as a house almost, and expands into something grander. This short story allows us to realize that the world is greater and further detailed than what we consider it in our confined minds. And that in fact we should never assume that there is nothing more to what the eye can see. It simply states that we shouldn’t form an opinion on someone or something based only on what you see on the exterior, because usually after taking the time to explore, the person or thing will not be what you expected.
Raymond Carver utilizes his character of the husband, who is also the narrator, in his short story "Cathedral." From the beginning of the story the narrator has a negative personality. He lacks compassion, has a narrow mind, is detached emotionally from others, and is jealous of his wife's friendship with a blind man named Robert. He never connects with anyone emotionally until the end of this story.
Overall, the cathedral that the narrator draws with Robert represents true sight, the ability to see beyond the surface to the true meaning that lies within. The husband’s insecurities makes him emotionally blind. His inability to see past Robert’s disability ultimately prevents him from seeing the reality of any relationship or person in the story. The husband becomes more sensitive and accepts the moment of being blind has allowed him to become a better man. Finally, the cathedral drawing ironically reveals blindness to be an important factor. As a result, Carver gives interesting lessons to powerfully assess how we can find beauty and free ourselves from prejudgments and see the real world with our minds, not only our eyes.
The husband in Raymond Carvers “Cathedral” wasn’t enthusiastic about his wife’s old friend, whom was a blind man coming over to spend the night with them. His wife had kept in touch with the blind man since she worked for him in Seattle years ago. He didn’t know the blind man; he only heard tapes and stories about him. The man being blind bothered him, “My idea of blindness came from the movies. In the movies, the blind moved slowly and never laughed. Sometimes they were led by seeing-eye dogs. A blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to. (Carver 137)” The husband doesn’t suspect his ideas of blind people to be anything else. The husband is already judging what the blind man will be like without even getting to actually know him. It seems he has judged too soon as his ideas of the blind man change and he gets a better understanding of not only the blind man, but his self as well.
Many people view blindness as a disability, but could these people be blind to their surroundings? Even though the narrator can perfectly see with his eyes, he lacks in understanding awareness. The narrator blindness isn 't physical, like many vision impaired people. His blindness is psychological, and his blindness causes him to become jealous. His blindness blocks his perception of viewing the world in a different way. This only causes him to see the physical attributes of humans, and thus shut off his mindfulness of viewing human personalities. As a result of a closed mind, the narrator doesn 't understand how Robert was able to live with the fact that he was never able to see his wife in the flesh, but the narrator fails to see that Robert vision of his wife was intimate. On the other hand, Robert blindness is physical. This causes Robert to experience the world in a unique manner. Without Robert eyesight, he is able to have a glimpse of a human personality. He uses his disability to paint pictures in his head to experience the world. By putting his psychological blindness aside, the narrator is able to bond with Robert, and he grasps the understanding of opening his eyes for the first time, and this forms a new beginning of a
Vision is something many people take for granted every day. Society only deals with the matter of being blind if they are the less fortunate ones. According to the Braille Institute, "every seven minutes a person in the United States loses their sight, often as part of the aging process" (1). Only two percent of legally blind people use a guide dog and thirty-five percent use a white cane. Blindness can be caused from various different types of things including (in order) age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and age-related cataracts. (Braille 1). However being blind does not mean a person is in total darkness. Some people can see lights and the shapes of objects, but the most import thing is for family and friends to provide hope and encouragement. The last thing a person who has lost their sight wants is to lose their family and support, which will led to loneliness. Likewise, in the short story "Cathedral," by Raymond Carver's, blindness is the key element in the story and shows in detail how the characters manage it. The theme Carver conveys in the short story is being able to see without sight and is revealed through the characters, tone and plot of the story.