Raymond Carver utilizes his character of the husband, who is also the narrator, in his short story "Cathedral." From the beginning of the story the narrator has a negative personality. He lacks compassion, has a narrow mind, is detached emotionally from others, and is jealous of his wife's friendship with a blind man named Robert. The major theme in Cathedral is learning to accept others differences which can be seen throughout the whole story as you watch the main character transform into a well rounded character by being able to accept Robert for the way he is; being blind. A blind man named Robert is coming to have dinner and stay overnight.
The opening line of "Cathedral" reads, "This blind man, an old friend of my wife’s, he was on his way to spend the night" (Carver, 92). Clearly, the narrator cannot see past Robert’s disability; he dismisses him in the same way a white racist might dismiss a black person. In reality, any prejudice, be it based on gender, race, or disability, involves a person’s inability to look past a superficial quality. People who judge a person based on such a characteristic are only seeing the particular aspect of the person that makes them uncomfortable. He even goes so far as to suggest to his wife “maybe I could take him bowling” (Carver, 93).
Almost immediately in the beginning of the story the narrator admits "A blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to." (Carver 266). He even goes so far as to suggest to his wife that he take the man bowling. He hears the story of Robert's dead wife and cannot even imagine "what a pitiful life this woman must have led." (Carver 269).
In the movies the blind moved very slowly and never laughed. A blind man in my house was not something I looked forward too” (Carver, 1983/2013, pg. 106). The blind man was on his way to visit his dead wife’s relatives and was stopping on his way there to visit. The narrator couldn’t quite grasp that the blind man was even married.
Candy is lonely because of his old age although it is somewhat helped by the fact he has a dog but as we know, he is left high and dry after the residents of the bunkhouse choose to eradicate it for it was in pain and also smelling. Curleys wife throughout is negatively portrayed to the reader by the workers on the ranch and therefore is not left with anyone on her side, ultimately, making her lonely despite having a husband. The fact that Lennie is so incapable of getting along with people who he doesn’t already know well, this leaves him almost completely reliable on George in the book. Last but not least, Crooks is left without companionship on the ranch for various reasons. In the novel, the ranch is a huge symbolism of loneliness.
The places the narrator goes to with her lover help add to the gloomy tone of the story. The narrator describes the restaurant as “private” (Weldon pg. 203) which makes the reader picture the restaurant as a lonely place. Also, as the narrator is talking about her relationship Peter, she describes their hotel bedroom in Europe as being “small and dark” (Weldon pg. 204) and as a “punishment room” (Weldon pg.
Sammy passes judgment on the customers for being dull and unaware: “The sheep pushing their carts down the aisle…I bet you could set off dynamite in an A&P and the people would by and large keep reaching and checking oatmeal off their lists…” (457). Sammy clearly does not view himself as one of these “sheep.” He does not want to do the same things as everyone else in his small town, to follow the rules just because everyone else does. Perhaps he has not yet decided that he will do something to get out of his circumstances, but it is clear that he has already become very unhappy with them. Sammy’s attitude toward his boss is less harsh than his attitude toward the customers, but it still is not respectful. In reference to his boss, Sammy says, “pretty dreary, teaches Sunday school and the rest, but he doesn’t miss that much” (458).
In the novella, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck demonstrates the negative impact of loneliness through Crooks, Curley’s Wife, and George and Lennie. Steinbeck demonstrates the negative impact of loneliness through a character called ‘Crooks’. “S’pose you didn’t have nobody. S’pose you couldn’t enter the bunk house cause you was black…S’pose you had to sit out and read books…a guy needs somebody to be near him…a guy goes nuts if he has nobody…” (72). Crook’s cannot live on without being around somebody, he
Boxer, a hard working yet stupid horse, has many troubles within the topics of thinking and education. While other farm animals learned to become literate, “Boxer could not get beyond the letter D” (Orwell 21). Because Boxer is so dumb and illiterate, he can not help towards any of the planning at all within the farm. Due to that, it can be said that he is instead a hindrance to the development of the farm, and thus be killed off entirely. However, Boxer's lack of intelligence can also be seen as helpful towards the society of the animals.
With Crooks being the only black man on the ranch he is automatically going to feel alienated, When the other men at the ranch do not relate with Crooks unless he is working because he is black is when he really feels lonesome. Other than when they are working, the other men shut Crooks out off all of their activities except horseshoes. Crooks is very isolated and not welcome in leisure activities in which they do to Curleys Wife also. He has become bitter and known to lash out at people because of the loneliness that he has. When he talks to Lennie in his room about having no one to relate to and communicate with.