Blindness is known as the lack of sight and is seen as a disability. This disability is normally thought of as a limitation of what an individual can do. Though what happens when a blind man can see more than his counterpart? Other than being an obvious juxtaposition you get Raymond Carver’s short story “Cathedral”. “Cathedral” is told from a first-person perspective by an unnamed narrator. The narrator is portrayed at the start of the short story as an ignorant and prejudice man. Carver uses a theme of blindness to convey experiences are what overcome prejudice in “Cathedral”.
The narrator’s wife arranged a meeting with an old friend name Robert who is blind. With the incoming of Robert, the narrator expresses his distaste for the blind and his arrival. He comments “A blind man in my house is not something I looked forward to.” (Carver 32). This comment by the narrator also gives insight to prejudice that he holds. The narrator obliviously has never experienced an encounter with a blind individual and has skewed perceptions of what the blind community is like. Later in the short story, the narrator gives the reader a full idea of his prejudice deposition with the comment “And his being blind bothered me.” (Carver 32). The comment fully displays how the narrator has a negative perception of the blind for no definitive reason, rather the narrator dislikes the blind cause they are blind. The narrator also shows his prejudice through other insulating and condescending comments early in the short story. He points toward his
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Carver using an experience rather than a story or account demonstrates how experiences help an individual’s view of the world around them. In the same vein, Carver using experiences also demonstrates why experiences are important for a person to have. Experiences allow a person to see the world in diverse and open