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The Blind Leading the Blind in Cathedral Essay

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The Blind Leading the Blind

After first reading Raymond Carvers short story Cathedral one could easily get the impression that the narrator is a closed-minded jerk. After reading the story a couple more times and really considering the position the narrator is put in, I began to realize he wasnt very closed-minded at all. He was blinded by jealousy. Because society perpetuates the idea that men must be territorial in relationships, the narrator felt that he must do anything in his power to make sure his wife was not ok with a strange man coming to his home. The narrators wife observes, You dont have any friends. Period (Pg. 321). If the narrator had friends, he could sympathize with them in times of need and could be more understanding about Robert coming to visit. This plays a big factor in the way the narrator views the relationship between his wife and Robert.

Robert and the narrators wife had such a strong bond the it almost infuriated the narrator. The narrator appears to become more insecure with his relationship with his wife the more he considers the relationship between Robert and her. She told him everything, or so it seemed to me (Pg. 321). This statement alone is packed with emotion and meaning. The narrator feels that his wife shares too much information with Robert, and not enough with him. That alone is enough to make any man question the relationship they are in as well as the relationship his wife has with Robert. Society says that men in relationships needs to be in control. The narrator feels like he has no control over anything going on in his marriage, which leads to his negative attitude towards the blind man, Robert.

The narrator immediately begins with a negative attitude towards Robert. Here is this strange blind man that he has never met who is good friends with his wife, and he is coming to stay in the narrators house. Im almost positive there is not a man alive today who is married who would not be uncomfortable with in that situation. When men feel confused or like they are not in control of a situation, it is our nature to immediately go on the defensive like the narrator does in this story. Maybe I could take him bowling, the narrator mockingly says (Pg.321). This is quite an offensive comment to make about a blind person, which proves my previous statement about the way men act when threatened. Also, Roberts wife has just passed away and the only thing that the narrator can think to say is, Was his wife a negro? (Pg.321). The narrator is emotionally shutting down because he does not want to have sympathy for the man who he feels is encroaching on his marriage with his wife. As the story continues and Robert arrives at the house, the reader can feel the narrators attitude slowly begin to shift in a more positive direction.

Actually meeting the third party often solidifies or changes the way one feels about them. After watching Robert get out of the car and assisted to the porch by his wife, the narrator begins to realize Robert is not so much of a threat. When the narrator and Robert first meet, Robert booms, I feel like weve already met (Pg. 322). The narrator responds, Likewise (Pg. 323). He then goes on to say that he didnt know what else to say to Robert. You can tell immediately after meeting Robert and observing him for a few seconds the narrator switches gears. Rather than be rude to Robert as he has done up until now behind his back, he shows respect. Once they get in the house and get settled the narrator asks, Did you have a good train ride? (Pg. 323). Again, even though he is still mentally uncomfortable, the narrator is beginning to transition to opening his eyes a little more. After offering Robert a drink and getting it for him the proceed to make small talk and eat dinner. After the three have conversed for a while, smoked some pot, and drank more, the wife falls asleep and the narrator and Robert are left alone.

As Robert and the narrator sit in silence a TV show about cathedrals came on. Robert then says, Cathedrals. If you want the truth, bub, thats about all I know. What I just said. What I heard him say. But maybe you could describe one to me? I wish youd do it. Id like that. If you want to know, I really dont have a good idea (Pg. 328). The narrator really struggled with this idea, he had no idea how to describe a cathedral to Robert. The best explanation he could come up with is, To begin with, theyre very tall. They reach way up. Up and up. Toward the sky. Theyre so big, some of them, they have to have these supports. To help hold them up, so to speak. The supports are called buttresses. They remind me of viaducts, for some reason. But maybe you dont know viaducts, either? Sometimes the cathedral have devils and such carved into the front. Sometimes lords and ladies. Dont ask me why this is (Pg. 328) The narrator had no clue how to explain to a blind man what cathedral looked like because he wasnt sure how to paint a picture for someone who has never seen anything before. I dont believe that there is deeper religious meaning in this, it is just simply hard to explain something to someone who has never seen anything before. After a little more discussion about the cathedral Robert suggests that they draw a picture of a cathedral together. The narrator obliges and draws a cathedral with the blind man. The narrator at this point was back in his comfort zone, he felt that he knew Robert well enough now that he was okay sitting with him helping him draw a picture.

Men are biologically wired to immediately think the worst of a situation. Society also says that if another man is too close with your wife or girlfriend, you need to do something about it. As soon as we feel threatened we go into defense mode and do anything we can to harm those threatening us without even thinking about the situation. Men, as human beings need to learn to adapt and not always think what society says is what goes. Men have to open their eyes, be cured of the blindness that nature and nurture forced upon us. We need to look at situations from afar, and see what is really going on. This is exactly what the narrator did when he began drawing with Robert.

Work Cited

Carver, Raymond. Cathedral

Portable Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Seventh Edition. Ed. Laurie G. Kirszner

and Stephen R. Mandell. Boston: Wadsworth, 2007. (320).

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