Character in “Cathedral”: A Changed Man Character is an imperative element to a story’s meaning. In order for a story to be captivating and perpetuate meaning, it must have sufficient character. Without the literary device of character, the story would disintegrate into a state of lifeless monotony. In Raymond Carver’s short story, “Cathedral”, the inclusion of character is noticeable throughout, and provides motivation for the reader to continue reading. “Cathedral” follows the narrator, who is the protagonist of the story, and his wife, and a blind man named Robert. The blind man, who is a friend of the narrator’s wife, is invited to stay with them for a period of time. As a result, the narrator displays jealously and resentment of …show more content…
Within the beginning of the story, the narrator is initially shown to be a self-centered, ignorant, isolated, and profoundly judgmental person. For example, his wife states he has no friends, “I don’t have any blind friends, I said. You don’t have any friends, she said. Period. Besides, goddamn it, his wife’s just died! Don’t you understand that? I didn’t answer” (Carver 88). This shows that he is has little sympathy for the blind man, and he simply doesn’t care. Seeing the blind man arrive at his home for the first time, the narrator states, “The blind man, feature this, he was wearing a full beard! A beard on a blind man! Too much, I say” (Carver 89). This portrays the narrator judging the blind man based solely on his appearance. Another way the narrator shows his character is how he perceives blind people by stating, “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 86). This shows how the narrator stereotypes the blind man based on what he had seen in movies, rather than personal experiences. However, the narrator evolves the more he interacts with the blind man throughout the story. He displays his sensitive side when his wife is explaining the story of the blind man and his wife who had passed away, “Hearing this, I felt sorry for the blind man for a little bit. And then I found myself thinking what a pitiful life this woman must have led. Imagine a woman who could never see herself as she was seen in the eyes of her loved one” (Carver 88). In this brief moment, the narrator shows compassion for the blind man and his wife. Furthermore, near the end of the story, the narrator finally has a realization of what it means to be blind. He learns to
The significance of the final scene in Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral” is important because illustrates how people with a negative demeanor can develop into a person with a positive attitude towards others. In the story, Bub not only falsely assumes bad things about blind people, but also about others as well. For example, he assumes that Roberts wife is a “negro” woman because her name was Beulah. The things that Bub assumes about Robert and Beulah resemble Bub’s negative attitude and personality toward the blind man and Beulah. Towards the end of the story, as Bub and Robert were watching television, the show featured a particular Cathedral. Robert asked Bub to describe the Cathedral when Robert says, “I wish you’d do it. I’d like that. If you
In Raymond Carver’s story, “Cathedral,” the story tells of how a close outside relationship can threaten a marriage by provoking insecurities, aggravating communication barriers, and creating feelings of invasion of privacy. The husband in the story is given the gift of seeing the cathedral through a blind man’s eyes. Although the title suggests that the story is about a cathedral, it is really about two men who come together and share a vision and realize it is he who is blind. As the story begins, the character of the husband has a negative personality. He lacks compassion, is narrow-minded, and is jealous of his wife’s friendship with a blind man named Robert.
Carver writes about three different characters with a focus on the development of the narrator himself. Although the reader never know her name, the narrator’s wife plays a small role in the story. She introduces the reader to the blind man. When the wife is in the room with both of the men, things seem to go wrong between the two men. The narrator seems to be almost nervous and upset with the wife for paying so much attention to the blind
The narrator is biased against the blind from the beginning. For instance, he stereotypes all blind people thinking they ...
The speaker's prejudice was nearly overwhelming at the opening of the story. "His being blind bothered me," he said. "A blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to." He had never really come in personal contact with anyone before who was blind, and seemed to have no idea of what to expect. He admittedly gathered a stereotypical mind set about blind people from movies, assuming they "moved slowly and never laughed."
The narrator in Raymond Carver's "Cathedral" has two fully functional eyes, in which he chooses never to use to their full potential. The eyes of the narrator are biased, insecure, jealous, and very limited in what they choose to see. This inability to see is made apparent when he is forced to meet and converse with a blind man. The narrator's perception of the world around him, and blurred vision, is resolved by a great irony in the story when Roger helps the narrator see past his prejudice outlook on life. The blind man teaches the narrator how to see.
The short story of the “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver shows the narrator as the main character of the story whose name is never mentioned. The narrator’s wife’s name is never mentioned as well, and her friend who is a blind man is coming to visit after losing his wife whose name is Robert. In the beginning of the story, the narrator shows that he is an excessive drinker and feels emotionally disconnected from his wife and his wife is excited about her friends visit, Robert. This kind of emotion makes him uneasy but doesn’t know why and because he knows that Robert is blind, he feels like he is better than him. Imagine having to meet a long time old friend of your spouse of the opposite sex who they a special friendship with and whom you haven’t
Throughout the majority of the story Carver uses a variety of devices to portray the narrator negatively. One reason is that he lacks compassion. At the beginning of the story he says, "I wasn?t enthusiastic about his [the blind man?s] visit. He [the blind man] was no one I knew. And his [the blind man] being blind bothered me."
The husband in Raymond Carvers “Cathedral” wasn’t enthusiastic about his wife’s old friend, whom was a blind man coming over to spend the night with them. His wife had kept in touch with the blind man since she worked for him in Seattle years ago. He didn’t know the blind man; he only heard tapes and stories about him. The man being blind bothered him, “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 137)” The husband doesn’t suspect his ideas of blind people to be anything else. The husband is already judging what the blind man will be like without even getting to actually know him. It seems he has judged too soon as his ideas of the blind man change and he gets a better understanding of not only the blind man, but his self as well.
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" (Narrator 77).
Throughout the text the narrator is either jealous or scared and has some idea of what a blind person should look or be like. “I have never met, or known anyone personally who was blind.” (pg.347) The narrator feels uncomfortable about having a blind man in the house because he doesn’t know how to be around blind people in general. He doesn’t feel comfortable with making someone else comfortable when he doesn’t know how to react. “A blind man in my house was not so...
In Carver’s life, this loneliness could have come from him moving and never settling in one place for a long time or from the failure of his first marriage (Caldwell). The narrator in ‘Cathedral’ somewhat embodies the loneliness that Carver may have experienced throughout his years because according to the narrator’s wife in the story, “[he doesn’t] have any friends.” (Carver 36) This statement clearly shows, that the narrator has only one person in his life, which is his wife, who he immediately shows jealously about when he remembers the story she told him about Robert touching her face for he could get a picture of what she looked like in his mind. This reaction from the narrator could have mirrored what Carver himself was thinking when his second wife had invited a blind man to their house. (Caldwell) Even
The narrator's insensitivity reveals itself early in the story when his wife's blind friend, Robert, comes for a visit after the death of his wife. Almost immediately in the beginning of the story the narrator admits "A blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to." [Carver 2368] He even goes so far as to suggest to his wife that he take the man bowling. He hears the story of Robert's dead wife and can not even imagine " what a pitiful life this woman must have led." [Carver 2370] The narrator is superficial, only recognizing the external part of people and not recognizing the value of a person on the inside.
In Raymond Carver's "Cathedral," the husband's view of blind men is changed when he encounters his wife's long time friend, Robert. His narrow minded views and prejudice thoughts of one stereotype are altered by a single experience he has with Robert. The husband is changed when he thinks he personally sees the blind man's world. Somehow, the blind man breaks through all of the husband's jealousy, incompetence for discernment, and prejudgments in a single moment of understanding.
This story is about how the narrator is unable to see what life is really giving him and finds it through a blind man’s eyes, the friend of his wife. Cathedral is a touching story, in my opinion, as it reflects on what many of us, society, take for granted. It shows how important it is to give people a chance and to be able to see the true meaning of what surrounds us even if it is not important to our personal life. Throughout the short story, Carver uses several figurative language to expose the theme of the story.