ipl-logo

The Nature Of Blindness In Raymond Carver's Cathedral

607 Words3 Pages

Everyone has their own sight, literally and figuratively. No one sees a certain situation exactly the same as another and it seems to be human nature to accept that one's own view is the correct one. This closed mindedness is seen through the first person narration in Raymond Carver's Cathedral. In this short story, the narrator claims a viewpoint with little to no knowledge and creates a barrier between the reader and the depths of who the blind man really is. The narrator exemplifies the human nature of closed mindedness through his journey from his metaphorical blindness to his newfound insight.
This short story portrays the transformation of individual's opinions from strictly black and white to a more open and accepting state. People tend to jump to conclusions without being the least bit educated on the subject. It's interesting how people can have …show more content…

As Robert attempts to get to know the narrator, the narrator details, "Did I like my work? (I didn't) Was I going to stay with it? (What were the options?)" (37). The narrator may not be visually impaired in a literal sense, but he can not see past the surface. In one sense, the narrator is blind to the world around him. He is what he described the blind to have "moved slowly and never laughed" (32). If the reader compared Robert's life with the life of the narrator, which would be more appealing? The narrator is, in his head, stuck in his job, thinking there is no where to go. His idea that the life of the blind is a sad life could be turned around to his oblivious life. The narrator is essentially blind to what life could be. Often times people find themselves just going through the motions of life and not stepping out to go further. Raymond Carver is showing the reader that closing their eyes and becoming blind to what is right in front of them could lead them deeper into

Show More
Related

Compare And Contrast Cathedral And A Good Man Is Hard To Find

1375 Words | 6 Pages

The narrator placed himself in Robert’s shoes and realized how inaccurate his perception about Robert was. By sketching a Cathedral, they were drawing a piece of art that represents a collaboration closer to sight. By sharing an intimate experience, Robert the physically blind man was able to help the unnamed narrator, metaphorically blinded prejudice man see his errors in his conscious and see things

Read More

Response To Raymond Carver's Cathedral

431 Words | 2 Pages

The author use of the title “Cathedral” was misleading at first. “Cathedral” is about a husband who had an interesting experience with his wife’s blind friend. The narrator, also known as the husband, had difficulty understanding other people thoughts and personal feelings. The narrator knew how important the blind man is to his wife, yet he still makes careless jokes about him. “Maybe I could take him bowling” was a comment made by the narrator after finding out that the blind man was staying over his house.

Read More

A Rose For Emily And Cathedral Analysis

1268 Words | 6 Pages

He realizes how smart Robert is, and he keeps being shocked as the night goes on. While listening to a show about Cathedrals, Robert asks the narrator to describe him a Cathedral. The narrator tries his hardest, but can not do it. To combat this, Robert takes the narrator's hand and has him close his eyes and together they draw the church just from memory. After drawing the Cathedrals, the narrator describes the picture as, “ It’s really something” (103).He learns how seeing is not everything in life, and how wrong he was with his assumptions about Robert.

Read More

Ignorance And Preconceptions In Raymond Carver's Cathedral

448 Words | 2 Pages

And this is an undoubtful argument that the narrator changed throat the story, Robert unconsciously succeeds in bringing new psychological and spiritual opening to

Read More

What Is The Theme Of Cathedral By Raymond Carver

1063 Words | 5 Pages

Robert’s wife has recently died and he used to work for the narrator’s wife. Robert comes to visit the narrator’s home and the narrator is not happy about this because he believes blind people to be miserable and gloomy based solely on what he has absorbed from the movies. At the end of the first paragraph, he says, “A blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to” (1.1). Little to the narrator’s knowledge, his wife and Robert had been using audio tape to correspond over ten years, and have much past history with each other. The narrator’s wife makes sure he knows to make Robert comfortable, and if he doesn’t it shows that he does not love her.

Read More

The Narcissistic Narrator In Raymond Carver's Cathedral

910 Words | 4 Pages

Because of his narcissistic personality, the narrator views his wife as an object, while the blind man, Robert, treats her as a friend and a confidant. The narrator’s inability to feel emotion causes him to value his wife’s body more than her emotions, therefore, he becomes jealous when the blind

Read More

Stereotyping In Raymond Carver's Cathedral

780 Words | 4 Pages

Readers can understand the elements by reading what the narrator has to say about the blind man. He is always complaining about him before the blind man even gets to his house. The narrator in the beginning did not give the blind man a chance before he started judging him. In a world full of negative things, people should give each other a chance to get to know one

Read More

Prejudice In Raymond Carver's Cathedral

727 Words | 3 Pages

In the story, the narrator’s narrow mindset is challenged over and over again as Robert breaks most stereotypes that the narrator held. As these stereotypes are broken, the narrator begins to feel more comfortable with Robert, and sincerely tells him that he is “glad for the company”. This release from prejudice culminates in the cathedral drawing scene of the story, where the narrator finally lets go of his bias towards blind people. Once the narrator closes his eyes, he is seemingly equal to Robert, and he consequently begins to understand Robert’s perspective. His newfound empathy towards Robert demonstrates how he has lost his prejudice towards him.

Read More

Paradise Of The Blind Literary Analysis

972 Words | 4 Pages

In Duong Thu Huong’s Paradise of the Blind, Hang has been placed on a path of self-sacrifice and duty by her family. Her life unfolds in stages- childhood, young adulthood, and her eventual role as an exported worker in Russia. With each of these shifts in her life comes a shift in setting and a shift in her emotional state. Hang’s changing emotional state depicts her “coming of age” and her growth as a character. Setting is important to creation of shift in the novel, and is often described in detail.

Read More

Internal Conflict In Cathedral By Raymond Carver

1522 Words | 7 Pages

In “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver, the narrator struggles with an internal conflict that involves him never being able to be in a vulnerable or sensitive state, especially when he is with his wife. The narrator creates suspense by having the reader wait until the end to realize what the blind man was referring to when he states, “From all you’ve said about him, I can only conclude—” (Carver 35). The reader can observe that the blind man was explaining that the husband was missing out on all aspects of life and the little things the world has to offer. The husband was so closed-minded, that he was missing out on having a deeper connection with his wife.

Read More

The Theme Of Epiphany In Raymond Carver's Cathedral

860 Words | 4 Pages

The narrator begins to change as Robert taught him to see beyond the surface of looking. The narrator feels enlightened and opens up to a new world of vision and imagination. This brief experience has a long lasting effect on the narrator. Being able to shut out everything around us allows an individual the ability to become focused on their relationships, intrapersonal well-being, and

Read More

Blindness And Metaphors In Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man

829 Words | 4 Pages

In the novel Invisible Man, the writer Ralph Ellison uses metaphors, point of view, and symbolism to support his message of identity and culture. Throughout the story, the narrator’s identity is something that he struggles to find out for himself. Themes of blindness and metaphors for racism help convey the struggle this character faces, and how it can be reflected throughout the world. One theme illustrated in the novel is the metaphor for blindness. Ellison insinuates that both the white and black men are blind, because they do not truly know each other.

Read More

The Theme Of Blindness In 'Cathedral' By Raymond Carver

917 Words | 4 Pages

However, the story takes an unpredicted and meaningful turn at the end when the narrator see things from a blind man’s standpoint. Since the beginning of the story, the narrator does not like the idea of having in his house a blind man. He does not know how to socialize with blind people because his idea of blindness came from the movies. He thinks blind people move slowly and they never laugh.

Read More

The Cause Of Conflict In Raymond Carver's Cathedral

1358 Words | 6 Pages

Conflict is the essence of any literary fiction. The main goal of an author is to tell a story that keeps the reader interested. At the story’s core, conflict is the momentum of happening and change and is crucial on all levels for delivering information and building characterization as well as building the story itself.   Conflict is the source of change that engages a reader and keeps them interested. In a story, conflict and action does what description and telling of feelings and situations do not.

Read More

Raymond Carver Cathedral Summary

528 Words | 3 Pages

He takes note of the simple things, like the awkward silence at dinner, where “we ate everything there was to eat on the table,” (Carver 45), and how they “got up from the table and left the dirty plates,” (Carver 45). Nothing too exciting happens, aside the narrator, when he “asked if he wanted to smoke some dope with me,” (Carver 55). Carver creates a very relatable story that mainly showcases ordinary people doing ordinary things. Although seeming to be anticlimactic for the majority of the story, these dull moments lead to a very important event. Robert and the narrator sit on the couch after the wife has fallen asleep, watching TV, when a documentary about cathedrals comes on.

Read More

More about The Nature Of Blindness In Raymond Carver's Cathedral

Related Topics

Open Document