Blind Leading The Blind Man In Raymond Carver's Cathedral

Essay #1, Character Analysis
English 102
Blind Leading The Blind In the short story, “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver, it all began when the narrators wife invites her blind friend over to visit her and her husband. The husband has normal vision, but in the beginning of the story, he is the one who is “blind.” For example, he is close minded and stereotypical about this blind man arriving to their home. The husband's words and actions when dealing with Robert is that the husband is uncomfortable, awkward, and mean. As the story progresses, we can see as change in the husband, and he seems to be able to see Robert as a person and not just as a stereotypical blind man. The narrator does not seem to care about Robert's feelings. Before Robert arrives, the husband refers to him as “this blind man” (Carver 32). He never uses his name, and he does not assign him any human attributes. The narrator stereotypes Robert as this dependent blind man who walks slowly with a cane, has a seeing eye dog, and wears dark glasses, but in fact, he could not
be more wrong. When Robert arrives to the couples home, the husband does not know what to say to him. The husband asks stupid questions about the view from the train: “Which side of the train did you sit on?” (Carver 34). The husband knows that Robert can not see the view, nor does it matter, but he asks these questions anyways. The husband continually thinks, “I don't know what else to say” (Carver 34). This can be a clear indication that he not trying hard enough to relate to Robert, and the narrator is a bit uneducated. These examples show how the narrator feels awkward around Robert, and he see's him as just a handicap, instead of seeing the fact that Robert made it all the way to his home on his own by train with no help needed. The narrator also has a problem with not knowing how to act around the blind friend either. After dinner all three of them leave the kitchen to go to the living to chat and catch up. When the narrator enters the room, he says, “Robert and my wife sat on the sofa, I took the big chair. We had us two or three more drinks while they talked about the major things that had come to pass or them in the ten years. For the most part, I just listened. Now and then I joined in” (Carver 39). The husband's discomfort is revealed through his actions. The narrator is extremely awkward and just plain clueless at times. The narrator can also be feeling a little jealous at times, too. As the short story proceeds, the reader can see the husbands attitude changing.
For example, when all three were sitting down eating dinner, the husband adds, “I watched Robert with admiration as Robert used his knife and fork on the meat” (Carver 38). The husband is finally understanding that Robert is just like everybody else. He can give him credit for accomplishing tasks like that. This incident is the most significant because we can see the narrator understanding that Robert is more than just a “blind man”, he is human just like him. He is seeing who Robert is on the inside. Another examples unfolds when the two start smoking marijuana. The narrator says to himself, “He held in the smoke, and then let it go. It was like he'd been doing it since he was nine years old” (Carver 40). This concludes that the narrator view Robert as a successful independent man who can still be a cool normal guy even though he is
handicapped. As the night started to wind down, the two start watching television, and on the screen a cathedral is talked about. Robert does not know what a cathedral looks like, so the husband tries to explain it to him. The husband finds it hard to explain because it is something that is imaginary. This is when the husband makes the transition to no longer being blind and close minded. He sees Robert as intelligent man with the same thoughts, imagination, and emotions. The cathedral brought them together because it is something none of them can see, but rather imagine and believe. In the short story, “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver, the narrator goes through a character change for the better. He has a problem with a blind man coming to his home just because the fact he is blind, but really the narrator is the blind stubborn one. The narrator changes how he perceives his stereotype for blind people. He no longer holds them countable for being boring, slow, or using a cane. He sees Robert as a smart, independent, and caring man that he is. The narrator may not have changed completely, but it did brighten his eyes and make him more appreciative.