Prejudice is a weapon that harms oneself as well as others. People can oftentimes be blinded by other aspects of life rather than by the physical state of being blind. The narrator’s prejudice towards the blind, especially Robert, hinders his relationship with his wife. The wife has a different view of blind people, due to past experience, and shows dismay towards the narrator and his negative perception. Overcoming prejudice for the narrator is a slow process, but in the end, he experiences a moment that changes his attitude towards Robert and his view on life. In “Cathedral,” the narrator experiences an epiphany that makes him realize his prejudice had been limiting his ability to grow as a person. The narrator is blinded by his prejudice …show more content…
“I felt sorry for the blind man for a little bit” (Carver 36). Sarcasm can be sensed in the narrator’s statement, but he is unconscious of his attempt to understand the blind man for the first time. After seeing the man, he describes his new findings which contradicted his past presumptions, “He also had this full beard. But he didn’t use a cane and he didn’t wear dark glasses” (Carver 38). His perception of uncertainty can be sensed in his thought, “There was something different about them,” implying people who are blind have certain attributes that distinguish them from others (Carver 38). The opinionated narrator soon notes that he has “no opinion” on the subject and moves on (Carver 40). Whether sincere or not, the narrator having nothing to say about a topic is a huge turning point for the narrator. Although the narrator makes it obvious he does not want to be left alone with Robert, his feelings shift to being uncomfortable, rather than feeling superior over him. The narrator eventually invites Robert to “smoke some dope,” which is an unintentional way of bonding over a common activity performed by the narrator. His gesture of sharing with the man he once resented shows foreshadowing of his change of heart. When the two gentlemen start talking, the narrator genuinely admits that he is “glad for the …show more content…
As discussion between the two men continues, the television captures a cathedral, an unfamiliar building to Robert. The narrator describes the scene to Robert, but fails to enlighten him and becomes stumped as to how he should explain the appearance of a cathedral. Robert’s suggestion to the narrator being unable to explain a cathedral with words is to have the narrator draw while he follows his hand. When Robert instructs the narrator to draw, he later tells him to close his eyes. By closing his eyes, the narrator is able to experience what drawing and thinking is like using his imagination, rather than logic and sight. The narrator had never experienced something like this and felt as though he was not inside anything (Carver 46). His new experience set his mind free for the first time. His prejudice was limiting himself from becoming a better person in learning to accept others and learn from them. The narrator learns he was blinded by his misconceptions and harsh judgment that never allowed for his mind to be set
My own high school experience brought me one of my best friends who I hadn’t paid much attention to because she was in a different clique. I wouldn’t have even considered starting a friendship with her if I hadn’t gotten past my prejudiced ways and opened my mind. The story of “Cathedral” provides a very optimistic ending, which wouldn’t have been possible without the narrator’s initial negative traits. The blind man’s likeable character eventually helps the narrator to have a sort of epiphany in which he appears to leave behind his
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.
The narrator's insensitivity reveals itself early in the story when his wife's blind friend, Robert, comes for a visit after the death of his wife. Almost immediately in the beginning of the story the narrator admits "A blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to." [Carver 2368] He even goes so far as to suggest to his wife that he take the man bowling. He hears the story of Robert's dead wife and can not even imagine " what a pitiful life this woman must have led." [Carver 2370] The narrator is superficial, only recognizing the external part of people and not recognizing the value of a person on the inside.
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.
In the eyes of the narrator, Robert’s blindness is his defining characteristic. The opening line of "Cathedral" reads, "This blind man, an old friend of my wife’s, he was on his way to spend the night" (1052). Clearly, the narrator cannot see past Robert’s disability; he dismisses him in the same way a white racist might dismiss a black person. In reality, any prejudice—be it based on gender, race, or disability—involves a person’s inability to look past a superficial quality. People who judge a person based on such a characteristic are only seeing the particular aspect of the person that makes them uncomfortable. They are not seeing the whole person. The narrator has unconsciously placed Robert in a category that he labels abnormal, which stops him from seeing the blind man as an individual.
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".
In Raymond Carver’s story “Cathedral” the narrator learns what it means to “see” through someone who cannot. To see is to be able to view the things around us while putting aside preconceived notions or fear about these objects or people. In order for this to occur once must overcome what they feel is out of the ordinary and learn to accept things as they are. At first the narrator is doesn’t accept the man and uncomfortable around Robert. The narrator soon comes to understand this when he puts aside his fears, and judgments that he can see more than what meets the eye, and the freedom that comes along with this seeing.
In Raymond Carver’s story, “Cathedral,” the story tells of how a close outside relationship can threaten a marriage by provoking insecurities, aggravating communication barriers, and creating feelings of invasion of privacy. The husband in the story is given the gift of seeing the cathedral through a blind man’s eyes. Although the title suggests that the story is about a cathedral, it is really about two men who come together and share a vision and realize it is he who is blind. As the story begins, the character of the husband has a negative personality. He lacks compassion, is narrow-minded, and is jealous of his wife’s friendship with a blind man named Robert.
Throughout the majority of the story Carver uses a variety of devices to portray the narrator negatively. One reason is that he lacks compassion. At the beginning of the story he says, "I wasn?t enthusiastic about his [the blind man?s] visit. He [the blind man] was no one I knew. And his [the blind man] being blind bothered me."
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 unnamed narrator of Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral” poses as an unreliable narrator for his unaccepting nature towards blind people along with his ignorant perception of many realities in his life that Carver presents for the reader to take into question. The narrator holds prejudice against Robert, a blind man whom the narrator’s wife worked with ten years earlier and eventually befriends. Unperceptive to many of the actualities in his own life, the narrator paints an inaccurate picture of Robert that he will soon find to be far from the truth.
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.
The narrator makes his opinions clear from the very beginning. In the first paragraph of the story he states, “A blind man in my house was not something that I looked forward to” (Carver, 34). This opinion continues on throughout almost the entire story. The narrator has no logical reason to explain why the thought of a blind man in his home makes him so uncomfortable either. He states that he has formed his opinion from movies where blind people move very slowly and never laugh. This is the only evidence he uses to defend his opinion, which is a very weak argu...