Diction And Irony In Raymond Carver's Cathedral

Can a blind person see better than a person with sight? In the short story, “Cathedral”, by Raymond Carver, its inferred that blind people truly can visualize the world, not physically, but in a more remarkable way than others. To help develop this theme of blind people being able to see, and those who can see are blind, Raymond Carver uses different rhetorical devices such as simple diction and irony. The narrator of the story lacks deep thought on different subjects; however, as for the blind man he puts in extra thought into life. Although he cannot see, Robert has honed his senses to have a knack to interrupt each situation as it arises. Never the less, the relationship between the two main characters sets up an interesting story that gives the audience opposing views on life.
Raymond Carver uses this element to help build the relationship of the narrator and Robert. The irony is that the narrator has vision but is blind to maturity and knowledge, while Robert is blind but can see people and ideas for what they really are not what they just look like. Throughout the story the narrator looks down on Robert because of his blindness, but he finds he’s a normal person after all. An example of Robert’s intelligence and knowledge of his surroundings is when he says, “This is a color T.V. ... Don’t ask me how, but I can tell.” This comment shocks the narrator, which begins his thought of Robert being normal and not an outcast, which is irony to his previous thoughts about Robert. Raymond Carver doesn’t only use irony to present the theme of the blind being able to see, he also uses simple