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Blind Man And The Narrator In Raymond Carver's Cathedral

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Understand Me
When you think of blind people, what is the first thing that comes to mind? For the narrator in “Cathedral”, he thinks of the stereotypical blind people that one would see in movies or TV programs. “Cathedral” tells a story depicting stereotypes and ignorance through the eyes of the narrator when faced with an uncomfortable situation with a blind man. He is not depicted as a stereotypical blind man, but as a normal human. He shows the narrator along with the readers that being blind doesn’t hold him back from living life at the fullest. In Raymond Carver’s short story “Cathedral”, he uses a blind man and the narrator not only to illustrate how stereotypes, specifically towards the blind, can prevent one from seeing and comprehending …show more content…
The beliefs that people who are different are considered weird or abnormal arise from stereotypes, which dissuades people’s opinions on a person before they had a chance to get to know them. The narrator in “Cathedral” had been overtaken by stereotypes, depicted in movies, regarding the blind before he personally met a someone who was blind. In the first paragraph, the narrator said “He was no one I knew. And his being blind bothered me. My idea of blindness came from the movies. In the movies, the blind moved slowly and never laughed. Sometimes they were led by seeing eye dogs. A blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to.” (84) admitting that he only knew of stereotypical blind people portrayed in movies, but he has no guidelines as to who and what blind people are, which will come as a shock to …show more content…
In other words, you must listen to the details instead of observing them. When the blind man, Robert, told the narrator to grab a pen and paper to illustrate a cathedral with his eyes closed, it caused an epiphany for the narrator. On page 96, Robert said “Go ahead, bub, draw, draw, you’ll see. I’ll follow along with you. It’ll be okay. Just begin now like I’m telling you. You’ll see. Draw.” following on page 97 when he then said “Sure. You got it, bub, I can tell. You didn’t think you could. But you can, can’t you? You’re cooking with gas now. You know what I’m saying?” teaching the narrator how to find meaning in things, relying on details and imagination rather than sight. The narrator finally realized what allowed Robert to see things without being able to observe physical appearances when he stated “My eyes were still closed. I was in my house. I knew that. But I didn’t feel like I was inside anything. It’s really something.” (97). This statement validates the epiphany the narrator had of the blind, showing that the only thing different about them is one can see and the other cannot. This entire scene in the short story illustrates how you don’t need to physically

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