Raymond Carver "Cathedral"

Un greetn Blindness
The vote counter in Raymond Carvers duomo is not a particularly sen codive man. I might describe him as self-centered, superficial, and egotistical. And while his actions certainly spill the beans to these points, it is his misunderstanding of the people and the relationships presented to him in this story which show almost clearly his tragic flaw: while Robert is physically blind, it is the cashier who cannot clearly see the world around him.

In the appearance of the narrator, Roberts blindness is his defining singularity. The opening line of Cathedral reads, This blind man, an old friend of my wifes, he was on his guidance to spend the night (Carver, 92). Clearly, the narrator cannot see then(prenominal) Roberts disability; he dismisses him in the same way a white racist might dismiss a black soul. In reality, any prejudice, be it based on gender, race, or disability, involves a persons inability to look past a superficial quality. People who judge a person based on such a characteristic are still seeing the particular aspect of the person that makes them uncomfortable. He even goes so far as to offer to his wife maybe I could take him bowling (Carver, 93). The narrator is superficial, only recognizing the external part of people and not recognizing the foster of a person on the inside.





The narrator, although insensitive, is actually quite polite. He tries to engage in small talk when Robert arrives but shows his insensitivity once again when he asks him which side of the train did you sit on, by the way (Carver, 95). He clearly does not know how to communicate with Robert, and it appears that he does not want to learn. Robert makes him uncomfortable, and the narrator does not know how to handle this. The narrator, in an effort to relieve his temper with the situation, offers Robert an alcoholic drink, and pours the first of many drinks to come. The narrator is not only insensitive, but ignorant as well. When he was amazed at the blind mans...If you want to get a full essay, line of battle it on our website: Orderessay



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