Story Of A Blind Man By Raymond Carver

The first thing I noticed about this story is the style it was written in. It actually sounds like something someone would say, and Raymond Carver writes it so well that if read aloud, it would sounds like a conversation, but also like the narrators thoughts. The narrator says things like "He was no one I knew. And his being blind bothered me." This is something that many people probably feel, a general discomfort around disabled people. The narrator then talks about how he got his view of blind people from movies he had seen, and that he wasn't looking forward to having a blind man in his home. This is a rather small part of the story, but it is one that I, and surely other readers, can connect to. Many people, including

The wife had been gone for a while, and the narrator wonders if she'll come back. The narrator, still being uncomfortable around the blind man, offers Robert some dope. To my surprise, Robert took some. I believe this leads to the narrator starting to realize that though he is blind, Robert is a normal man. At this point in the story, I found Carver's candid telling of Robert, the narrator, and the wife smoking marijuana quite humorous. I appreciate that this is not a topic a known writer would put in his story with such detail typically. It also goes with the modern day idea (among teens) that tokers are cool, relaxed people. When Robert took the dope offered by the narrator, I (and surely the narrator) thought Robert to be a more complex and easy going person than first thought. Afterwards, the wife begins to fall asleep on the couch. Robert says that he will still stay up with the narrator, who is honestly glad for the company. A small exchange occurs and Robert says that he is always learning, because he listens. This gives even more depth to a well fleshed out character, and it helps the reader to understand even more about