Raymond Carver Cathedral Essay

The story “Cathedral,” by Raymond Carver is a story of two men, whose ability to see things were completely different from one another, but something had united them at the end of the story which is why it is so fascinating. The narrator, who doesn’t have the name, is confronted by a visitor in his house when his wife invites a blind man, named Robert, to come over to their house. The narrator assumes that he’s superior to Robert when he arrives. Why not? He was able to see things physically but Robert wasn’t. Robert, however, has an ability to see things at a deeper level. He may be physically blind, but later on, it turn out to be that the narrator was the one who is actually blind. The Cathedral is drawn by the narrator and Robert, and it

represents the true power of seeing; which is the ability to see anything beyond the surface. It seems that in the story, the narrator learns about the character (his attitude and beliefs towards blind people, takes one more human lesson, which releases the narrator and allows him to truly see for the first time and, most importantly, he harnesses the potential of greatness and kindness in humanity.
The narrator in the story has a negative mental attitude and limiting beliefs about blind people.

At the beginning of the story, he judges Robert with his appearance. Despite the fact that Robert is blind, he’s able to see things with a great vision, but the narrator, on the other hand, he’s thinking is superficial. According to the narrator, “his being blind bothered him.” “A blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to.” Here, it seems obvious that he is judging Robert from outside. The narrator also felt some sort of jealousness when his wife talked about how Robert touched her face, and how she had written a poem about the blind man’s influence. Hence, the narrator doesn’t just like blind people, he has the prejudice towards many people that aren’t like him. In this case, he is showing his racism. However, at the end of the story, an outrageous thing happens. The narrator was eventually wrong, and he felt that his thoughts were creepy and realized that he was the one who is actually

blind.
Moreover, the nameless narrator takes on a more human lesson. He gains insight into his own life when he draws a picture of the cathedral with Robert, realizing for the first time that looking inward is a way to gain greater knowledge and a deeper understanding of himself. Robert, too, learns insights from the drawing. Although it’s unlikely that he was able to visualize what the narrator drew, he shares the experience of the narrator’s awakening. In the end, the narrator learns about vision, which he can see more than he ever could with his eyes open.
Furthermore, the narrator harnesses the potential of greatness and kindness in humanity.

As mark twain mentions, “Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” It seems that Robert teaches the narrator an important lesson about humanity, and they form a good rapport after drawing the cathedral together. He paints not what he sees, but what he feels, and the narrator couldn’t believe what he draws with Robert. As he says “it’s really something,” it appears that the cathedral is not only about how well he drew the picture, rather it’s about how Robert reveals the narrator’s potential of seeing things in a better perspective. Thus, the narrator learns a significant lesson from Robert, probably his ability to see things has enhanced after this lesson. Robert illuminated the narrator with light and

sight.
In conclusion, it is generally agreed that the eyes are useless when the mind is blind. The way the blind man illuminated the narrator with light and sight has such a profound impact that, I myself read the story thrice, and I cement the blind man as one of my heroes because he is a caring, easygoing man who sets even the narrator at ease. The three things that narrator learns has an important lesson about his attitude and beliefs towards blind people, takes one more human lesson, which releases the narrator and allows him to truly see for the first time and, lastly, he harnesses the potential of greatness and kindness in humanity.