Who Is The Narrator In The Cathedral

The narrator’s attitude in “Cathedral” changes completely throughout the story. He feels, at the beginning of the story, uncomfortable and annoyed with the fact that a blind man would be staying in his home. “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.” The narrator is a very judgemental person and stereotypes Robert into a category he had already created inside of his head. He is not willing to welcome Robert into his home.

“Journeys allow travelers to reflect on their own experiences because of new knowledge gained and greater insight into themselves and the world around them.”

The narrator first looks at the blind man as just a blind man, he didn’t refer to him as Robert, didn’t think that he would be able to do much on his own, and that he most likely wasn’t very knowledgeable. The narrator greatly changed his personal outlook on the Robert when he saw the Robert eating at the dinner table with ease. He was moving as if he knew where everything on his plate was. In a scene at the dinner table the narrator was thinking to himself and said in his mind, “I watched with admiration as he used his knife and fork on the steak.” (Carver 110) This was a turning point for the narrator’s outlook on Robert. After this scene, the narrators outlook on him

In addition the narrator has a few prejudice thoughts about the blind man prior to his arrival, but they appear to change as the story evolves. The narrator is not afraid in voicing his

People who judge a person based on such a characteristic only see the particular aspect of the person that makes them uncomfortable. They are unable to see the whole person. The narrator unconsciously places Robert in a category that he deems uncommon, which prevents him from seeing the blind man as an equal.

majority of the story, which shows the physical distance. Although the story only takes place

Here, husband just cared about if this wife was a negro. During Robert visit, many reactions of husband reflect his short vision about blind people and what they can do, and also that they can be loved by the people who treat with them like his wife. He astonished that Robert was interesting to listen to the TV and also can analyze what he can listen. Husband was expecting the stereotyping image of the blind man which wears a black glasses and has a cane. He impressed when Robert called his "Bub, I'm a scotch man myself." And then drunk several rounds, and when he smoked cigarettes since he thought that blind people are not smoking. Husband admires Robert's proficiency with utensils and his willingness to use his fingers at times during the dinner. After his wife slept, he was driven crazy when Robert turned his ears to the program in the TV was showing specific information about one of the medieval artistic cathedrals and asked in the paintings were frescoes, but the narrator can't remember what frescoes are. On this situation the author was trying to end the story by showing how the difference in knowledge and vision between the two

The metaphorical term of blindness does not create a lacking visual vision between one another, but instead it creates a psychological distance between individuals. Considering Robert’s imminent visit, the narrator states, “A blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to” (Carver 95). This comment reveals that the narrator is not happy about meeting Robert, but he does not have a say of not letting the guest come into their house. This comment also suggests narrator is an ignorant person who stereotypes blindness because he does not even refer the guest to his name; he only refers Robert to as the “blind man” throughout the story. The fact that Robert is referred to as the blind man by the narrator suggests that the narrator has

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

It takes place in the narrator's home; he is on his way to spend the night. Here we in vision a relating visit with friends and good times. However, the narrator expresses negative thoughts about Robert because he is blind. The narrator says, “I wasn’t enthusiastic about this visit. He was no one I knew. And his being blind bothered me” (Carver 28). The narrator believes blind people are dismal and miserably unhappy. Carver gives a gleam of this character’s perception as he judges Robert and his worth. The narrator evaluates Robert’s life as having nothing to contribute to society or anyone else. He also states “My idea of blindness came from the movies” (Carver 28). As a society, we do this unknowingly every day to people we

Since the point of view comes from the husband, his transition from merely looking at Robert to seeing him as human is highlighted. When Robert first arrives, the speaker is only focused on the physical aspect of the man, instead of his personality. One of the first remarks he makes about his guest upon his arrival is that, “He didn't use a cane and he didn't wear dark glasses. I had always thought dark glasses were a must for the blind” (page 38). He was shocked that Robert did not resemble the blind person

He knows that the man’s name is Robert, yet he only refers to him as the blind man. Other than the opening sentence, which I have already discussed, there are numerous instances to prove how judgmental he [the narrator] is. For example, while discussing Robert prior to his arrival, the narrator bluntly says, “I wasn’t enthusiastic about his visit. He was no one I knew. And his being blind bothered me . . .

The narrator made assumptions about individuals he didn’t know yet: Robert and his gone wife. The husband knew about Robert, but just what his wife had told him, nothing else. Before talking to him or knowing how Robert was, he started judging him for no reason: “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 looked forward to” (Carves

If Cathedral were to have been told by the wife in the story instead of the husband, I would expect the story to be less skeptical of Robert but not have a point made at the end. The wife has known Roger much longer than her husband. She is also very close with him. The husband seems nervous to have a blind man in his home. He seems skeptical to open his home to the man probably because he does not know what to expect seeing as he has never met a blind person before. The wife would not be nervous because she knows how to help and take care of Robert after being his care-takers for a short while.

This showed that the narrator first viewed Robert in a terrible way by judging him before he even got to meet him, yet shortly after meeting him, everything changed. The narrator 's mind was brought to Robert’s, as they both closed their eyes and drew a cathedral together. It is then realized that it is not all about what you can see, when the narrator speaks “But I had my eyes closed. I thought I’d keep them that way for a little longer...I was in my house. I knew that. But I didn’t feel like I was inside anything. It was really something.” The narrator now understands that the blind man does not get the opportunity to ever see anything, so he figures he ought to try it out, overall truly amazing himself.