Robert Is A Dynamic Character In Cathedral

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In Raymond Carver’s Cathedral, the narrator, his wife, and Robert are the only character that are actively involved in the story. The most interesting character in the story is the narrator. He is unnamed and tells the story about his experience with his wife’s friend and former boss Robert. In the beginning of the story, the narrator’s wife brings Robert to the house to stay because, his wife died, and he was visiting his wife’s relatives. The narrator despises Robert because he is blind. By the end of the story, Robert helps change the narrator. Even though the narrator does become a dynamic character, he is also an antihero. According to Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing, an antihero is a protagonist that …show more content…

From reading Cathedral, the narrator is judgmental and prejudice towards Robert when he first meets him. The narrator takes this course of action because, he saw in movies how blind people are “slow” and “never laughed”. Ultimately, he based judgment on another person based on a stereotype he saw in a movie. This leads to another unheroic attribute which is that the narrator is fearful. The one thing that makes the narrator fearful is someone taking away his high school sweetheart, his wife. In the story, one sees that the narrator deeply loves and admires his wife, even though it seems like he does not seem happy with his marriage. When his wife talks to Robert, he hopes that his wife stays in a relationship with her. The third noticeable negative attribute about the narrator is his …show more content…

He does not hide the fact that he despises Robert to his wife or to the reader. Also, the narrator straight up explains that he is jealous of Robert and his wife’s relationship. Another positive trait that he possesses is his loyalty to his loyalty and love to his wife. Earlier it was mentions that the narrators adore his wife and does not want someone to take away his sweetheart. The narrator eventually realizes that Robert is not out to steal his wife and he opens to him. Later in the story, Robert and the narrator are both watching a documentary on Cathedrals. Robert then asks the narrator to describe the physical features of the Cathedral, but the narrator has a tough time describing it. Eventually, the narrator tries to draw a cathedral with his eyes closed. While drawing, the narrator has an epiphany and learns how to see someone or something beyond their physical attributes. According to enotes.com, the cathedral in the story symbolizes how life is more than a day to day event that takes up one’s time and how one could find something rare and beautiful inside their