Real Blind Man In Raymond Carver's Cathedral

Who is the Real Blind Man? In the story Cathedral, by Raymond Carver, the narrator makes multiple statements as to how he feels about Robert, the blind man. The statements are made purely on what the narrator has seen in movies and what he has read. The narrator makes harsh judgments of the blind mind regarding his inability to see his surroundings and other people. However, the narrator fails to see things the same way that Robert does, more deeply. Throughout the story the narrator finds himself beginning to understand the blind man’s condition in that he can see more than he anticipates. The narrator, or ‘Bub’ as the blind man calls him, goes through a drastic change of character throughout the time of getting to know Robert. After talking and having a few drinks with Robert and getting to know him a little better, Bub begins to see things as the blind man does and shines some light on a whole new perspective of being able to see. During the beginning of the story, Bub describes how he views bling people by saying, “My idea of blindness came
from the movies. In the movies, the blind moved slowly and never laughed. Sometimes they were lead by seeing-eye dogs” (Carver, 1983/2013, p 106). Bub could instantly see that his perception was wrong as soon as he peered out the window and saw the Robert laughing with his wife, getting out of the car himself, and grabbing his own suitcase from the back of the car. Bub had also made assumptions that since blind people could not see, that they were unable to do many things that others could do, therefore making him feel more superior to Robert and jealous of the close relationship that Robert had with his wife. Bub thought himself to be a better man merely based on the fact that he had working eyes that allowed him to view the world; to see was to be able to view his wife and enjoy the way she looked and to know what emotions people were showing based on facial expressions. Everything that Bub thought as being good in life was based on physical perception, rather than the deep thought it took to understand it. For being blind man, Robert seemed to be a very successful man. Robert had “[…]his little office in the county social-service office” (p 106) and that “[…]he and his wife had had an Amway distributorship[…]” (p 110), but Bub could only see this as being things his wife has told him about Robert, rather than seeing that blind people are fairly self-sufficient. Bub’s jealousy was his major downfall in not being able to see Robert as anything more than someone who was blind. Bub had even blamed the blind man on making him wait for his wife’s return from picking him up at the train station, though after he saw Robert exiting the vehicle, his thoughts were beginning to change. Although Robert was blamed for making Bub wait, when Robert entered the home, sat down and “was taking his bearing. [Bub] didn’t blame him for that” (p109). He had even made Robert a drink, still basing his perception of Robert’s appearance he ‘knew’ that the blind man typically drank Scotch with a little water. After a few drinks, Bub was lightening up and even buttered some bread for Robert at dinner. His perception of Robert was changed again as they had all sat down for dinner. “The blind man had right away located his foods, he knew just where everything was on his plate. [Bub] watched with admiration as he used his knife and fork on the meat” (p 110) showing that the blind could very well eat just as any other human being. Bub’s jealousy begins to come around again after they move back into the living room and listens to the extensive conversation that Robert and his wife were having together. The two were talking about things that they had experienced during their separation and Bub was jealous that his wife hadn’t even mentioned him at all. Though still showing that he could be respectful and understanding throughout his change, he attempted to join the conversation every once in a while to lend comfort to the both of them. Once the conversation died down, Bub turned the television on and his wife was very displeased by this. Attempting to prove his actions as being rude, she asked Robert if he even had a television as was quickly stunned herself by the fact that he had two. Once his wife had left, Bub had started talking to the blind man and started to feel more comfortable being around him alone.
Bub listened to the weather and sports channels with Robert and then offered him another drink and some cannabis, showing that his comfort was growing knowing that this sort of recreation was normally shared by close friends. When Bub’s wife came back downstairs, she was even angrier with Bub until she saw that Robert was enjoying himself and realizing how she didn’t know as much as she thought about him, either. When Bub’s wife had fallen asleep on the couch, waiting for Robert to be ready to go to bed so that she could help him upstairs, Bub showed he was also more comfortable with the blind man and his condition by realizing that he need not cover his Wife’s exposed thigh; he could sit in his house and enjoy himself comfortably while also, for once, having company to smoke and socialize
with. As the night went on and there was not much to be seen on T.V. the two were stuck watching a show that described cathedrals. Bub had even apologized to Robert for the fact that there was nothing on to watch, and Robert reassured that the selected channel was alright with him, helping Bub to feel more secure. After a while, when the narrator of the show let visual aid take over for him, Bub had attempted his best at describing what was happening so that Robert could enjoy what was going on in the show. Then in Bub’s up-front, honest way of getting to know Robert, he had asked the blind man if he even knew what a cathedral looked like and then tried his best to describe what one looked like. Once Bub noticed that he wasn’t as good as he had hoped at describing and understanding much about the cathedrals, Robert offered him to draw it and without hesitation, Bub complied. With Robert’s hand over Bub’s they were drawing the cathedral together, every line of it on a grocery bag. When Bub was told to close his eyes and continue drawing, he did so. When Bub was told that he could open his eyes to see what he and Robert had drawn, he kept his eyes closed. In Raymond Carver’s story the Cathedral, the dynamic character, Bub, had gone through a steady period of change in his perspective. During the beginning of the story, Bub was very shallow minded and believed only what he could see and what he could read; Bub thought that having the ability to see meant that he was better off than Robert. As the story progressed, Bub began to realize that his shallow perceptions of Robert were ill-informed and that just seeing Robert behave the way he did, caused him to change his idea of blind people. Bub started off being very uncomfortable with the idea that Robert would be staying the night, though after getting to know Robert a little better, Bub started seeing him as more than just a blind man, but as a friend. Carver gets very detailed about certain instances in the story to show that those instances are very important for the reader to start understanding Bub’s transition in character. Scenes like when Bub talked about his wife’s past, Robert’s wife, Robert arriving at his house, watching Robert at dinner, watching television and smoking cannabis together and finally drawing a cathedral are described with more detail to show how Bub is making his transition. From being selfish and shallow minded in the beginning, Bub changes to a more understanding and open-minded man by Robert helping him along. After Robert spends some quality time with Bub, he helps to change his idea of the world by getting Bub to ‘see through his eyes’ and to imagine and feel the way that Robert does, and Bub is comfortable with that feeling.

Works Cited
Carver, Raymond. “Cathedral.” 1983. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. 12th ed. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. Boston: Pearson, 2013. 105-115. Print.