ipl-logo

The Idea Of Blindness In Raymond Carver's The Cathedral

707 Words3 Pages

"My idea of blindness came from the movies… A blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to” (261), a quote by Raymond Carver in his short story, “The Cathedral” about being judged before getting to know someone. A blind man, named Robert, got judged by the narrator, also known as Bub because he based Robert on the idea media placed on the blind during their time. The theme of this story does not always believe stereotypes are the way people truly are. The theme speaks to me because my younger brother, Andrew, has autism and he is constantly being judged and criticized for his behavior. Autism is a mental condition that causes difficulty in communicating and forming relationships, but a lot of people do not realize the signs, therefore, it is easy to criticize. Some characters overlook stereotypes while others stand by them confidently. All the characters in this short story prove the theme in separate ways, such as Bub, his wife, and Beulah, Robert’s wife. Firstly, Bub stereotyped Robert all built on how he thought blind people were supposed to act. Carver wrote, “In the movies, the blind moved slowly and never laughed” (261). He was not excited to meet Robert since that was a new experience for him while he had a stubborn image of the blind in his mind. In my familiarity, this happens daily …show more content…

She took a chance and “they’d become good friends… she told me” (261). She looked past his “problem” and saw how amazing he was. He could do anything a seeing person could. “Robert had done a little of everything” (264). He was a regular man doing everyday activities except he could not see. Just like Andrew he can do anything any other nine-year-old can. If others took the time to stop and ask or recognize the signs of autism, they could learn to appreciate his personality and could tell the difference between his

Show More
Related
377 Words | 2 Pages

Can you ever imagine a world of unaccepting individuals, constant fight, and the loathe differences and disabilities? Could you imagine a world where no one could get along? Unfortunately, we as a clique and community are reaching nearing such a world. Adversely but sadly true, some communities and countries have already begun to discriminate against young adolescents and adults with special needs, or different views, turning into a constant fight for survival. James Hurst's short story, The Scarlet Ibis and Ray Bradbury's, A Golden Kite, The Silver Wind, Hurst and Bradbury discuss themes of allegory, rivalry, vanity and pride through characters in both stories, The narrator of The Scarlet Ibis and The Mandarin of The Golden Kite, A Silver

Read More
564 Words | 3 Pages

When first reading the story the narrator comes across as someone with a not so pleasant attitude. The narrator's wife and an old friend or hers named Robert; who is blind, have been communicating with each other for the past ten years. It's pretty obvious that the narrator is jealous of Robert. This is part of why the narrator has issues with blind people. “My idea of blindness came from the movies.

Read More
303 Words | 2 Pages

An old friend of the narrator "Robert,'' is the blind man in the story. When the sighted man tries to explain what a cathedral is like to the blind man, his words fail. One man relies on vision to communicate, the other does not. It was like they spoke different languages. At the end of the story when the narrator says "My eyes were still closed.

Read More
1375 Words | 6 Pages

The narrator placed himself in Robert’s shoes and realized how inaccurate his perception about Robert was. By sketching a Cathedral, they were drawing a piece of art that represents a collaboration closer to sight. By sharing an intimate experience, Robert the physically blind man was able to help the unnamed narrator, metaphorically blinded prejudice man see his errors in his conscious and see things

Read More
248 Words | 1 Pages

In the story of "Cathedral" the narrator is not happy that the blind man is visiting his home and has listened to rumors and unofficial sources to form a conclusion about the blind man before he even meets him. He feels both sorry for the blind man because of the fact that he is blind and feels like the blind man is limited to learning and truly experiencing life as a whole. He learns afterwards that him and the man get along quite well and even become friends because he was not like what he expected a blind person to be at all. This theory of having heard one story and believing it is true has plagued many of our minds and I think we should be more open minded when we form opinions on something or someone . Throughout this paper I would like

Read More
898 Words | 4 Pages

In the story the narrator, who is also the husband, is very judgmental at first. He is this way because his wife's friend is coming to stay with them for a couple of days and her friend is a blind man named Robert. The husband never met this man, never the less a blind man. In the beginning he is stereotyping the blind man by saying, "My idea of blindness came from the movies. In the movies, the blind move slowly and never laughed" (Carver 456).

Read More
448 Words | 2 Pages

The narrator’s eyes are closed and he is being led by a blind man, yet he is able to see. Carver never explains what it is the narrator sees, but there is the sense that he has found a connection and is no longer detached or isolated. The narrator is faced with a stark realization and glimmer of hope. Hope for new views, new life and probably even new identity. Even the narrator’s wife is surprised by the fact that her husband and Robert really get along together.

Read More
1106 Words | 5 Pages

One of the strongest and detrimental effects of disability portrayal in literature on society is how it carries the capability to create stereotypes regarding the disabled community. The direct effect of the portrayal of disabilities in literature on society (or in this case young children) is shown in the article “Is Lennie a monster? A reconsideration of Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men in a 21st century inclusive classroom context” by Clare Lawrence. In this article, Lawrence quoted a research done by Heather Garrison where several adolescents were asked of their thoughts on disabilities after reading Of Mice and Men. In their responses, they “described disability as being ‘abnormal’ or ‘inferior’ and indicated that they were less likely

Read More
910 Words | 4 Pages

Robert loves his wife and views her as his soulmate rather than a body to fill empty space. Robert’s physical blindness does not hold him back from feeling, while the narrator’s emotional lack of sight proves more

Read More
291 Words | 2 Pages

This was the first time that I’ve read a novel through the perspective of a teen with autism named Christopher Boone. Being something new, I didn’t know what to expect. At first I considered the narrator/protagonist to be rather annoying with his reactions towards certain stimulants. These

Read More
1321 Words | 6 Pages

One can view Islam as a terrorist religion, while another can view Islam as a peaceful religion. Neither perspective is wrong of Islam because perspective can be influenced by environment, personal experience, society, family, and a variety of other factors. This is why Marjane Satrapi’s unique influences affect her perspective on how she portrays imperialism, social classes, and revolution in her life and the book Persepolis. The photograph shows the United States and Europe taking the natural resources out of Africa.

Read More
1415 Words | 6 Pages

His urge to climb the water tower manifests Arnie’s behaviour of being fixed on one idea which can reflect how a genuine person with autism may behave in reference to one individual idea. Evidently, Hallstrom’s inclusion of stereotypes of people with autism’s behaviour can conclude how the town of Endora react to Arnie’s actions. They deceive him as a pest or a piece of entertainment

Read More
860 Words | 4 Pages

The narrator begins to change as Robert taught him to see beyond the surface of looking. The narrator feels enlightened and opens up to a new world of vision and imagination. This brief experience has a long lasting effect on the narrator. Being able to shut out everything around us allows an individual the ability to become focused on their relationships, intrapersonal well-being, and

Read More
308 Words | 2 Pages

In Jorge Luis Borges 's essay,”Blindness”, the author describes his feelings toward his disability. His primary audience are readers who want to learn more about the author disability and for people who are struggling with similar disabilities. His purpose is trying to interpret how the author dealt with his blindness and sharing his personal life to the Readers. Borges does this by using flashbacks and interprets the flashbacks and the challenges that he had to go through. He goes back and forth talking about the positives and negative of dealing with his blindness.

Read More
528 Words | 3 Pages

In his contemporary short story, “Cathedral,” Raymond Carver tells the story of an unnamed narrator, his wife, and an old friend, a blind man named Robert. Robert has come to visit the narrator’s wife, who is quite excited to see this man whom she hasn’t seen in ten years, yet the same can’t be said of the narrator who is noticeably and vocally uncomfortable about his visit. The story is told through the narrator’s first person point of view, showcasing his thoughts and the events that take place when Robert comes to visit. Carver highlights the theme of having the ability to see, but not truly seeing, through his use of colloquial language, and creation of relatable characters. “Cathedral” begins with the narrator informing the audience

Read More

More about The Idea Of Blindness In Raymond Carver's The Cathedral

Related Topics

Open Document