Cathedral Raymond Carver Analysis

The passage that stood out most to me in “Cathedral” was at the conclusion of the story, where the narrator finally realizes how to “see” and not solely how to “look”. “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”. This is the first time the narrator realizes that he was in fact the one wandering through life blind because he couldn’t see the meaning of things in life. The narrator seems almost stunned when he was done drawing the cathedral and we, as readers, don’t really get to see a complete response from him as Carver choose to leave the story’s ending rather vague. However, the readers still get the sense that the narrator had experienced

The use of symbolism such as the physical and emotional meanings of blindness can describe different meanings behind elements of the story. In the critical essay, the author discusses why an author might choose to make a character bling and what it means. Diane Andrews Henningfeld, the author of the critical essay explains, “clearly the author wants to emphasize other levels of sight and blindness beyond physical.” Blindness can be more than just the levels of physical sight and the author wants that to be understood. The author wants to emphasize and make it very clear that other levels of sight and blindness exist like not seeing the beauty in life and being blind to it beyond just being able to see with your eyes. The quote can feel something about the characters traits and how they can be so opposite from their physical abilities. This quote Conveys the facts. People can see in different ways. It is stated that,“although he is blind, he ‘sees’ how to get along with others in profound and important ways. By contrast, the narrator, although sighted, does not see how his isolation damages himself, his wife, and their relationship. He is

The beginning of the story presents the narrator’s wife working for a blind man one summer by reading, “stuff to him, case studies, reports, that sort of thing” (Carver, 34). She eventually extends an invitation for the blind man, Robert, to stay at their house after Robert’s wife had passed away. The narrator was not too happy about having a stranger stay in his home by stating, “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” (Carver, 34). The narrator seems very timid about someone he had never met stay at his house who can see purely nothing. This gives off an impression that the narrator doesn’t want to have Robert stay with him because he will be a hassle to keep up with since blind people in the “movies” progress, “slowly and never

Immediately, the narrator reveals his narrow mindedness when faced with Robert, the blind man. Preconceived judgemental comments are mentioned moments after the initial meeting, as the narrator refuses to refer to the man by his name, instead only acknowledging him as “the blind man”. He recalls a moment when the blind man touched his wife’s face, not fully understanding the importance of such action, only classifying it as unusually strange. The narrator then reveals that he has “never met or personally known, anyone who was blind”, offering an insight into an explanation for his behaviour.

By saying that his idea of blind people came from the movies shows that he probably has not had any real life encounters with a person who is blind, therefore the only idea he has of blind people are the kind that are portrayed in movies. However, by saying that blind people “never laugh” and “move slowly” makes them seem dysfunctional as human beings. Blind people cannot see, but that does not correlate to how quickly they move. By saying that blind people move slowly, that indicates that they are “disabled” and not able to keep up at the same pace as others. Not only is the fact that the narrators perception of those who are blind awkward, but it makes it seem as if the blind have their own stereotypes—which is the foundation of discrimination and prejudice.

The narrator ‘s insensitivity was witness at the beginning of the story. He is not supportive of his wife after her announcement of the visit of an old friend name Raymond. Raymond was blind and his wife recently passed away. After hearing of the visit the narrator made his indifference for the blind man known: “I wasn’t enthusiastic about his visit. He was no one I knew. And his being blind bothered me. A blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to” (Carver 299). He never expressed sympathetic toward Robert for his current lost, and failed to understand that familiar face might be comforting to him during his time of grief. Instead the protagonist continues to being insensitive, by insulting choices and action of others: “It was a little wedding- who want to go to such a wedding in the first place? – just the two of them, plus the minister and the minister’s wife” (Carver 301-302). Robert lost did not stop the main character from speaking about her in an

Whether it be by the twenty-seven references to Robert as “the blind man” before the first mention of his name (pages 77-79), the appeals to speculative generalizations and stereotypes regarding the supposedly correct facial hairstyles, eyewear, and non-smoking habits of the blind (pages 80, 81), or even his inquiry into the skin color of Robert’s dead wife (page 79), the narrator is not shy about expressing his shallow obsession with the appearance of things. As he said himself, “…his being blind bothered me,” (page 77). And to his dismay, “this…blind man was coming to sleep in my house” (page 79). Notably, Robert is the only character named, and the significance of this is lies in the narrator’s demeanor towards other characters. He was cautious and possessive over his wife (page 80), defensive over himself and his name (page 78), and dismissive of her ex-husband

In Raymond Carver’s story, “Cathedral,” we meet the nameless protagonist who is about to meet an old friend of his wife’s. The friend’s name is Robert and he is blind. In the beginning of the story, the narrator is uncomfortable with the idea of having someone with a disability, like Robert’s, in his home. He makes judgments about Robert and assumes that he is going to be like the blind people he has seen in the movies. We also learn the background information about how hife wife and Robert met and became friends. This story is a metaphor for not making blind judgements off of people before you get to know them.

People are always put in situations that they do not necessarily know how to handle. The narrator, in “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver has personally never been around anyone who was blind until his wife introduces him her lifelong blind friend. Being inexperienced can make someone uncomfortable, which can be taken as being judgemental. As the story progresses, the narrator transitions from being uncomfortable to having a better understanding of the blind man and his life. The narrator is not judgemental of the blind man, but is someone who is uncomfortable, and is experiencing this situation for the first time.

At the beginning of the story, the narrator introduces conflict by stating his dislike for blind people. He sees the blind as dull, helpless beings. Before Robert arrives, the narrator applies these stereotypes to him. While expressing his dislike, the narrator confesses that “[His] idea of blindness came from the movies.” (34) This confession not only shows the narrator’s ignorance, but also the impact of television on him. His ignorance leaves ample room for character development.

Robert showed a sense of friendliness and kindness from his words, but the narrator is acting uncomfortably, as Robert acted and looked very different from what he expected from a blind person. However, the tension was eased by Robert’s continuous surprise to the narrator in a positive way. He did many things that broke many of the prejudices of the narrator, including wearing no dark glasses, smoking, and eating neatly with little help with his finger. The focal point has turned to the narrator himself, who observed everything and changed his mind on blind people gradually. Yet the ice was not broken between him and Robert.

A first-person narrator is a man ruled by prejudices. We can notice it in the reaction of the narrator toward blind people when he says that his idea of blindness came from the movies, and Robert being blind bothered him. We also can feel predisposition toward African-American when he refers to the blind man’s wife name, Beulah, as a name for a colored woman. He is a distant, ironic, and cynical man, bordering on discourtesy in his treatment of the guest. It is completely closed to the world. The narrator shows lack of compassion when he thinks "Robert was left with a small insurance policy and half of a twenty-peso Mexican coin. The other half of the coin went into the box with her [his late wife Beulah]. Pathetic." He is trapped by routine, by monotony, and by his own limited vision. He is the main character in the story, and he has trouble building relationships. We can perceive it through his manifestation of jealous of the connection his wife has with Robert. When he talks about the blind man touching his wife’ face we can feel he believe Robert can understand his wife deeply than him, that they have a special connection between them, but he thinks he is superior because he is capable of looking. We also can recognize some jealousy traits when he talks about his wife’s first

Through his abundant comments, the narrator expresses his judgments and misconceptions about people and the articulation of emotion. In other words, what the narrator thinks and says defines his wrongful ideas about the world. He admits that his “idea of blindness [comes] from the movies” and, therefore, expects the blind to “[move] slowly and never [laugh]” and be “led by seeing-eye dogs” (Carver 209). Because he lacks day-to-day interactions, he relies solely on popular culture, and rather than basing his expectations on real people, he forms stereotypes. Moreover, as a result of his limited experience, the narrator is unenthusiastic, bothered, and even distressed by Robert’s visit, confessing that “A blind man in [his] house was not something

The authors  selective writing style is through first person and we are told the story through the narrator. He is married to his wife, who they are both not given names throughout the story. The wife has an old friend, who is coming down for a visit due to the tragic event of his wife’s passed due to cancer. Throughout the story, the narrator struggles with insight of different lifestyles, prejudiced opinions towards the blind man, and attempting to secure a way to adjust his life for a favor his wife inquired. The narrator will soon realize that be needs to maintain an open mind to other people’s lifestyles and needs to sees struggle through a different perspective.

We first learn of our narrator’s views on blindness when he discusses hosting a blind man whose wife recently died. He remarks that he is not happy about the man coming to his house because his idea of a blind person is someone who does not laugh (137). His comments about blind people and his generalization of them as unhappy people because of their disability shows that he can only see the surface of people. Also, the narrator feels pity for the blind man’s late wife because The narrator is does not seem to be able to comprehend that a person who is blind could be happy because he cannot connect with a world that he cannot see. He feels that because he has his sight and the blind man does not, that he is superior to the blind man. However, this