Reflection Of Blindness

The main character or narrator in the Cathedral was not only jealous of the relationship between his wife and her friend (the blind man); moreover, he had not seen him in person and did not appreciate the idea that he was actually spending the night at their house. However, after the narrator’s encounter with Robert, he perceives that he was not what he expected him to be; instead, he was gentle and friendly. On the other hand, the main character or narrator in everyday use was outspoken and straightforward, explaining about her surroundings and what had transpired in her life. From harsh labor to the different circumstances, she had faced in her lifetime; she also talks about her daughters who had different personalities.

In Cathedral, the unnamed narrator, husband, defines the character of Robert as an anomaly in which he doesn’t comprehend. “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 looked forward to” (Carver 1983). The media has been able to lead people like the narrator to develop negative opinions towards those with disabilities creating a type of phobia. After hearing stories about Robert, told by his wife, he could not imagine this blind man having a good life, one worth living. He assumes that Robert’s wife, Beulah, had lived a very pitiful life as well, not having her husband ever knowing what she looked like or what subtle nuances her facial expressions could only show through sight.

Sometimes we have to look beyond what we see on the outside to understand something more deeply. In the short story Cathedral By Raymond Carver, the narrator has an attitude of being selfish, and jealous through the story. The narrator’s wife invites a blind man, Robert, to come stay in their house for a short time while the man visits family members of his own wife who recently passed. The narrator is not enthusiastic because blind people make the narrator uncomfortable, mainly because the narrator has no real experience with the blind. In addition, to his uneasiness with the blind the narrator is uncomfortable with the relationship his wife and the blind man have. The wife and Robert, the blind man, have maintained a close

Blindness is not limited to physical manifestation. In Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral,” the figurative blindness is immediately apparent through the narrator and his shallowness, irrational jealousy, and egotistical personality. His dismissive behavior and ignorance towards the feelings of Robert, his wife’s blind friend, speak negatively of his character and reveals his insecurities. While the narrator’s emotional blindness and Robert’s physical blindness initially inhibits their bond, it eventually leads the narrator to an epiphany and the beginning of a character transformation. The different forms of blindness allow the characters to bond and grow over the course of the story.

The narrator is pre-judgemental towards all people who are blind, whether or not he has met them. He believes all blind people are the same as those he has watched in movies. The narrator perception of the blind is that they “moved slowly and never laughed” and when they went out “they were led by seeing eye-dogs” (Carver 104). The movie industry creates a false image of the blind, which leads to the narrator’s assumptions. However, the blind are not all the same, just like how everyone else in the world are not the same. People are designed to be different in their personalities, thoughts, looks and much more. The narrator’s ideas of Robert are based off of false conceptions and this changes his attitude towards Robert. The narrator already has strong feelings towards Robert before meeting him

These views change possibly because a disabled person, whether a friend or family member, may be acquainted with them. Treating another equally removes these preconcieved beliefs. In the story, the audience enters the narrator's mind and sees the narrator's bias; furthermore, the narrator explains that he has "never met, or personally known, anyone who was blind" (5). The mind is powerful enough to convince people that they are seeing reality; however, empathizing with the disabled, whether through drawing a picture or conversing, reveals the flaws in people's

Characters are often unsatisfied with their the place they find themselves in society. Discontent is what drives them to gain ambition in their ability to radically change their situation to one that is most favorable in their perspective. These changes differ from character to character, including alterations in their moral conduct, mental capability, or in something as easy as his way of dress. The ambition to change rests deep within the character’s soul, regardless of how simple their actions may be. Fathoming a false image of oneself not only damages the individual, but creates trouble for the people around them, such as family and loved ones.

There are millions of different ways to see something; there are millions of perspectives. As the old saying goes, “If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change,” a change of perspective towards any object, person or event can alter an individual's understanding towards the whole world. In the novel, the Cellist of Sarajevo, by Steven Galloway, Galloway demonstrates the idea that when individuals develop a new perspective, they often change their interpretation of the world, which results in new attitudes and actions. In the text, characters, Kenan, Dragan and Arrow’s, view of the world is drastically changed when they are placed in the war-torn streets of Sarajevo. A change of perspective in Arrow is what developed

In another instance, the narrator makes a racist remark, asking his wife whether the blind man’s wife is a Negro. In response to the narrator’s remark, his wife exclaims, “have you just flipped or something?” (246). After briefly discussing the death of the blind man’s wife, the narrator quickly shifts gears from a depressing mood to a sarcastic one. The narrator makes it clear he found himself, “thinking what a pitiful life this woman [the blind man’s wife] must’ve led” (247). The narrator is quick to explain his negative viewpoint of the blind man’s wife, as well as of the people he faces daily.

The narrator does not find joy in learning, does not have close friendships, and superficially judges the world. According to his wife, he has no friends. “Every night I smoked dope and stayed up as long as I could before I fell asleep”. He has a monotonous life. He is also afraid of the blind man and does not know how to interact with him. The blind man’s eyes creep him out. “I’d always thought dark glasses were a must for the blind. Fact was, I wished he had a pair”. He judges the man based on his look instead of his personality. Even before he met the man, he fixated on the blindness. He also feels pity for

This semester I learned a lot about writing in English 151. It has been a roller coaster ride with these essays for me this semester. I learned step by step how to write a good essay and how to have your readers be engaged in what you’re trying to tell them. Each essay I did has taught me something valuable I can take to the next level of English. I feel as if as the semester went by I did not take my writing that seriously and that reflected in my grades I received in each essay. It made me a better student and writer and it will reflect next semester. In this essay, I will reflect on what I learned throughout this semester that you should apply in your writing when you begin English 151.

How capable are people, truly, of empathizing with those unlike them? The stories of two men, one deformed and the other poor, are presented to readers, and which character readers better empathize with relies upon which character readers better relate to. In ¨The Elephant Man¨ by Bernard Pomerance, and in ¨Tuesday Siesta¨ by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, readers are introduced to John Merrick and Carlos Centeno, respectively. The story that better manipulates empathy is Carlos Centeno´s, simply because most are more capable of putting themselves in his shoes.

And the husband’s vulnerability is shown is shown in his hostility to the blind man, whom he rightly suspects of having a psychologically more intimate relationship with his wife than he, with all his emotional blindnesses, is able to have.

Individuals are generally perceived to be productions of their upbringings and socialization. Latin author, Gabriel García Márquez and Algerian writer Albert Camus, introduce how their characters conflict with socialization as a result of their cultivation in Love in the Time of Cholera and The Stranger respectively. In Márquez’s novel, the key female role is assigned to Fermina Daza, a middle class Latina in the 1800s-1900s, expected to hold prestige and marry wealthy by her father and societal pressures. In The Stranger, Meursault, the protagonist, develops a niche for logic rather than influence which provides the Christian based society with a reason to have a heinous perception of him when he fails to express emotion at his mother’s

Throughout the short stories, characters endure circumstances that allow them to realize the unfairness of the world, ultimately causing a change in attitude. In “Souvenir,” the protagonist finds herself in a shop purchasing a pack of condoms for her mentally ill boyfriend while being followed by an old man. With the belief that sacrificing something precious of herself such as her virginity, the teenager initially felt that her love could save him from his mental illness. Those in the store around her, however, forced humiliation upon her, especially the elderly man. Finally becoming aware to those around her, she has an epiphany of those surrounding her in addition to the society she lives in. Witnessing the differences in people’s behaviors and attitudes, she grasps the understanding that people are influenced by others