Charles Baxter Cathedral Analysis

There is a change in perspective once a person influences our lives. In “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver, the narrator’s wife brings home her blind friend to stay the night, but the narrator doesn’t like the idea. The narrator changes near the end, once he is finishes drawing a cathedral and feels it with his eyes closed. In “Gryphon” by Charles Baxter, the narrator gets an odd substitute teacher with wonderful stories. She eventually leaves because of a student telling the principal what is happening, and the narrator is sad by this because he is forced to return to the uneventful lifestyle he had before. The narrators in “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver and “Gryphon” by Charles Baxter each overcome a unique challenge in daily lives, and overcome

He does not look forward to meeting the blind man because he is ignorant about the idea of blind people. The narrator is being stereotypical of blind people by using movies as a reference: “In the movies, the blind moved slowly and never laughed. Sometimes they were led by seeing-eye dogs” (Carver 1). This quote shows the direct ignorance of the narrator. He relies on the actor’s portrayal of blind people as factual evidence, for reality. In his eyes, blind people represents a zombie like figure. The narrator is also inconsiderate of his wife’s guidance of the blind man. He is so closed minded by the the fact that a blind man that he doesn't know is staying for the night. He makes rude comments of the blind man's dead wife, their life, and how pathetic it is to have a partner blind. The narrator continues to ignore what the blind man is saying and refuses to see the man’s position. He states: “ Finally, when I thought he was beginning to run down, I got up and turned on the TV. My wife looked at me with irritation” (Carver 7). The narrator is trying to an effort but he is simply not interested in the blind man and wife wants the narrator to consider for her