Allusion And Stereotypes In Raymond Carver's Cathedral

New media during the 1980s included televisions, films, and cell phones, which brought stereotypes to different ethnicities, races, and other groups. People before the 1980s had different viewpoints before the age of media. In a reference to how blind people are perceived, they complement with accessories such as canes and sunglasses. In “Cathedral,” Raymond Carver suggests a theme of discriminatory lenses through diction, allusion, and imagery. Carver uses literary language to help perceive the narrator as an ignorant, disrespectful person. The narrator believes Robert is an abnormal person in society, so he does not want Robert in his house. Even after learning the blind man’s name, the narrator insists on calling him “the blind man” throughout
For example, the narrator got most of his views of blind people from films (Carver 33). He remembers insightfully that they require sunglasses and handicapped dogs. The narrator believes everything he sees, such as believing that the blind cannot smoke (Carver 36). It is similar to how nature documentaries can influence peoples’ opinions on sharks and other species. Carver uses allusion as he understands that most people get their perspectives from character descriptions on TV shows and films. Stereotypical beliefs are still prelevant in today’s media. In Daredevil, the Netflix series, the main character does not need a walking stick or sunglasses, but he does not want to look unnatural in public. The 1980s was a time period in which media was heavily influenced by political and cultural beliefs (Stephen 341). There was a lot of hatred towards LGBT, race, religious groups, and other groups with internal and external conflict around the United States. This tone is seen by the personality of the narrator, as his lenses were modified by the popular culture around the 1980s time period. Most of the allusion results from the imagery of everyday objects, which include TV, audiotapes, sofas, and