Looking And Seeing In Raymond Carver's Cathedral

“Cathedral”: The Difference between Looking and Seeing Everything given to a person in life is a blessing, and a person has the opportunity to choose whether they want to appreciate what has been given to them or not. A blessing can be small or large, whether it be a house to live in, a car to drive in, or even eyes to see. In the short story “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver, the narrator is unappreciative towards everything he has in his life including his wife. His wife invites an old friend who shares an emotional connection with her which the narrator and wife do not share, to spend the night. The narrator becomes skeptical about Robert spending the night, especially after finding out that the man is blind. During the blind man’s visit, the narrator learns a valuable lesson. This story shares a strong message of relationships which breaks down to intimacy, jealousy, communication and acceptance. It started in the beginning of the story with the invitation of Robert to spend the night, showing the intimacy and jealousy, leading to the symbolism of the audio tapes representing communication, and ending with the symbolism of the drawing of the
It took a blind man to help the narrator to actually see. In “Cathedral” what is known as looking is physical vision, but in order to really see, it requires a stronger and deeper involvement. The narrator is only seeing through his eyes and is not looking at the bigger picture. Robert however, has the ability to “see” in a deeper level. Even though Robert can’t physically see the narrator’s wife he understands her more because he listens. The narrator had to go through lack of intimacy while dealing with jealousy and having lack of communication with his wife before one person could help him accept and understand life as he should. The narrator learns that the ability to really see involves more than just