literature assignments

1

John Chum

Professor Paul

LIT-204-WI01

January 19th, 2021

Cathedral

Everyday we encounter people on the street, school or work but many times we close ourselves off and don’t create the chance to get to know who they are. We find most of the time, the most interaction with a stranger is just a few seconds and we already make assumptions about them despite only having such a short encounter with that stranger. How do we know if that person could potentially be one of the best people you could ever meet? In “Cathedral” Raymond Carver shows how the narrator and Robert, who is blind and a complete stranger, eventually can share moments and experiences despite their distinct differences.

We as humans are very likely to draw a lot from our first impressions of someone, the whole opinion of someone can just be created with just a few looks or even words. The narrator’s wife has a blind friend that is going to stay overnight at their house. “A blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to” (Carver 1) the narrator says as he continues to stray away from the blind man that he never met.The wife and the blind man have known each other for years as she used to work for him. Last time they saw each other, the wife created a poem about how the blind man touched her face. When the wife tried to show the poem to the narrator he “didn’t think much” of it or he just doesn’t “understand poetry”. It is clear the wife and man have a very long history between the two and the narrator isn't exactly thrilled about their experience. He doesn’t have any excitement towards the blind man or any sympathy as the blind man’s wife died recently.

The blind man arrives at the house and the narrator continues to talk down on the fact that he is staying over for the night. Stating rude comments such as “Maybe I could take him bowling” (Carver 3) and disrespectful questions “Was his wife a Negro?” After hearing the name of the wife of the blind man only worsened his feelings towards the man. Eventually the negativity towards the blind man flips and the narrator slowly starts to relate to the blind man. The two men share a drink, “a glass of Scotch” (Carver 6). This is significant as this is the first time the narrator and blind man share something in common.