Cathedral by Raymond Carver initiates with a narrator that shows fear and prejudice towards the blind, he is a husband of an unnamed wife who so happens to be a close friend of a blind man. After the wife hears the tragic news about her friend’s loss she invites him over to her house for a time of reconciliation and comfort. The narrator’s stereotype of the blind slowly begins falling away slowly after his observation and time he gets to spend with this distinguished man, which alters his views. The short story uses a narrative point-of-view which helps give the story its meaning.
The narrator is shown to be a man who is envious of his wife’s first husband, jealous of her bond with the blind man and who smokes marijuana daily. The narrator’s use of a narrative point of view helps give the readers an inside of his personal thoughts about the blind man, Robert. Stereotypes and intimidations are constantly present with the narrators thought’s such as “they move slow, use canes, wear dark glasses, never laugh, and use seeing-eyedogs.” This helps demonstrate the view the narrator has towards the blind. Further into the story the narrator’s thoughts take a dramatic enlightening turn with the use of a cathedral, it serves as a way to grasp the narrator and show him to “see” things in a different prospective.
The Essay on A Blind Man Makes Him See
Raymond Carver’s short story about the anticipation and fulfillment of one man’s encounter with his wife’s blind friend. The man, who is also the narrator, is wary of this rendezvous, having known no blind people in his own life up to that point. His ignorance is apparent as he thinks of blind people only from a cinematic perspective. He tells us “My idea of blindness came from the movies. In the ...
In conclusion, the narrator in “The Cathedral” does experience a mind altering sensation, in which Raymond Carver intended. Through the use of narrative point-of-view it helped guide the readers to experience a remarkable change within the protagonist.
