Catherdal
In Raymond Carver's "Cathedral," the narrator's character develops in a way that is hard to believe. At first, the narrator has preconceptions about a man he does not even know. The narrator feels this way because of the lack of knowledge he has about blind people. He feels he can prejudge the blind man because he thinks he knows enough about his "type." The narrator will soon find out how wrong he will be! Throughout the story, the reader has a chance to see how and why the narrator develops into a wiser and more accepting person. This is the beginning of his change. The narrator tells the story from his point of view right after it is happening allowing him to tell it in great detail. In the end, the narrator will have gone through an epiphany. He will change his feelings about this stranger he thought he knew. He will realize the blind man is a person just like himself. As the story unfolds, the narrator complains to his wife about the blind man coming to stay with them: "Now this same blind man is coming to stay at my house" (par. 6). The narrator does not know anything about his wife's friend, but he insists that it is going to be an awful experience. The narrator is very shocked when he first meets the blind ma
n. He assumes he will have a cane, he will be wearing dark glasses, and he will not smoke. He is very wrong! The narrator also does not understand why the blind man would marry someone since he would never see what his wife looked like. The blind man's wife's name was Beulah. She worked for him after the narrator's wife. When the narrator hears that her name was Beulah, he says, "Her name was Beulah. Beulah! That's a name for a colored woman. Was his wife a Negro" (par. 12-14)? He is making another assumption based on what he thinks he knows. After the narrator finds out Beulah had died, he says, "They'd married, lived and worked together, slept together-had sex, sure- and then the blind man had to bury her. All this without his having ever seen what the goddamned woman looked like. It was beyond my understanding" (par. 26-29). The narrator does not see the point of their marriage at all. He has a strong prejudice against this man that he does not even know. When the narrator's wife goes upstairs for a minute, the narrator says, "I wished she'd come back downstairs. I didn't want to be left alone with the blind man" (par. 59-60). The narrator is telling this story from his point of view. He is telling it right after the fact so it helps the reader to see what he is really feeling. The reader is able to see how strong his view is and how strong his reactions to this situation are. At first, when the narrator is talking with the blind man, he wants him to feel comfortable. While drinking, the narrator asks the bli
Some common words found in the essay are:
Beulah That's, Robert Robert, Carver's Cathedral, name beulah, narrator's wife, narrator shocked, robert tells, narrator cathedral, robert tells narrator, blind coming stay, blind people, story view, coming stay, blind coming, tells narrator,
Approximate Word count = 1041
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
