Essay On Cathedral By Flannery O Connor

1131 Words3 Pages

In various works of fiction, there are characters who symbolize the ignorant people within our society. Within our society there are people who fail to try to understand those different things, and we even have people who believe they are “good” while ignorantly and inevitably having their own flaws. In both Cathedral, by Raymond Carver, and A Good Man Is Hard to Find, by Flannery O’Connor, the central characters are forced to deal with circumstances that change their beliefs about themselves and others. The perspective and symbolism of these two authors point to the danger of ignorance. In Cathedral, there are two main characters. There is an unnamed narrator, and a blind man named Robert. Raymond Carver details two polarizing …show more content…

In Cathedral, there are various symbols. One example of symbolism is blindness, which can be symbolized as not seeing the truth. The blind man also alludes to the blind prophet in Oedipus, who ironically knows all of the answers to Oedipus’s questions and sees the truth. Just like the blind prophet, Robert helps the narrator understand more about himself. Another symbol is a cathedral. The unnamed character helps Robert understand what a cathedral is by first describing it, and then drawing it while Robert holds his hand. In this story, cathedrals represent that amazement you see when you walk into one and look up. This amazement is similar to an epiphany, which is why Carver titled this story “Cathedral.” Symbolism is not very obvious in A Good Man Is Hard To Find. However, O’Connor uses motifs like the phrase “A good man is hard to find.” O’Connor constantly references to these better times where people (specifically men) were more qualified than the people today. She is clearly using satire to highlight the grandmother’s irony in wanting a man who is adequate for her, when she is so flawed and so ignorant …show more content…

In Cathedrals, the narrator starts his journey to enlightenment once the blind man enters the house. The first step towards the narrator’s understanding is when he learns that Robert smokes. The narrator believed in a misconception that blind people did not smoke because they are unable to see the smoke. However this was disproved when Robert smoked his cigarette. This caused the narrator to feel more connected to the blind man, because even though Robert was different, they both had a similarity. The second step, that shows the narrator’s change in perspective, occurred when they ate dinner. This scene alludes to The Last Supper, because of the wine, bread, and prayer. This also shows that the narrator’s disposition is slowly transfiguring. The final step towards the narrator’s epiphany is when Robert asks him to explain what a cathedral is. After the narrator draws the cathedral on the paper, Robert tells him to close his eyes. This act forces the narrator to experience what Robert experiences every day. The narrator not only sympathizes with Robert for the first time, but he truly understands that being different is not bad. In A Good Man Is Hard to Find, the grandmother experiences an epiphany as well. While she is trying to explain to the Misfit that he actually is a good man, she realizes the flaws that she possesses. At the end of the story the grandmother cries out, “‘why, you’re one of my

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