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.
”Unknown Blindness” The narrator in Raymond Carver’s "Cathedral" is not a particularly sensitive man. I might describe him as self-centered, superficial, and egotistical. And while his actions certainly speak to these points, it is his misunderstanding of the people and the relationships presented to him in this story which show most clearly his tragic flaw: while Robert is physically blind, it is the narrator who cannot clearly see the world around him. In the eyes of the narrator, Robert’s blindness is his defining characteristic. 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).
Robert, the blind friend of Carver’s wife, adopts the literal role of blindness whereas the figurative role of blindness is assumed by the narrator because of his inability to seek and accept people who are different. Literal blindness is considered by most as a major set back for a normal life and a burden for those around them who must acquire a large amount of patience and compassion. Robert, however, seems to have accepted his abnormality. He jokes about his having two different types of televisions and states “but if I turn the TV on, and I’m always turning it on, I turn on the color set. It’s funny, don’t you think?”(727).
The irony and paradox of the two men (blind and not blind) towards the end of “Cathedral” was remarkable. Again, there is a sense of hope as the themes revolves around the idea that it takes the blind man to make seeing people sees things they previously could not. “Cathedral” is a unique story of growth and equality that I think every reader can relate to. I can understand how readers may find themselves frustrated or left feeling incomplete to the fact that Carver does not always provide a “resolution” to each short story. Nevertheless, this is the precisely the beauty of this anthology.
I would consider the narrator self absorbed, concerned only with how the visit from Robert will affect him and dismissive of what role Robert may have played in his wife’s past. “A blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to.” (Cathedral) He fails to look into how this man could have had a positive impact on his wife’s life, and focuses on how this situation will affect only him. I believe the narrator also lacks self-awareness. He pities Robert’s wife because her husband could never look at her, never realizing that he doesn’t really know his own wife despite the fact that he can see her. The narrator is also not a very smooth storyteller.
We gain an understanding of his character as we read more about him, ‘he smiled happily’, and this is a childish description of such a ‘huge man’, we wouldn’t expect someone so ‘huge’ to act childish. Steinbeck presents Lennie’s character as a benevolent one, this seems to derive sympathy from the readers because it makes them feel apologetic towards him and appreciate him. Due to the foreshadowing events which were accentuated throughout the novella, it is clear that Lennie's dream can never be accomplished and we actually feel sympathy for him as he does not intend to hurt others, Steinbeck makes it apparent that Lennie is in the grip of a powerful ability (immense strength) that he has no control over, which leads to the death of many. (Notice how the death of the species he kills tend to get larger) and the readers can understand the deep innocence of this character as he did not mean to kill Curley's wife in section five. We know this because he began to 'cry with fright' and he knows that he has done ‘a bad-thing’ because he is aware that he has done a bad thing; this enlightens the readers that when Lennie senses danger, he feels threatened and becomes very dangerous.
He was not part of the sin, but still suffered from it. His incredible knowledge of healing, a value to the entire town, was ruined by the quest for revenge upon Reverend Dimmesdale. All four of these lives were ruined, all because of one small sin committed by two people. A merciful, forgiving, benevolent god would never let that happen. Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale was a young minister, who was greatly loved by the Puritan community.
Even though Gimpel’s wife, Elka, was never faithful to him, he was still a happy man. The townspeople and even the Rabbi told him of her infidelities, but he placed his faith in his wife. He did not have a reason to not believe her, so he trusted that she was faithful. Gimpel defeats the bitterness buy having a steadfast belief in human goodness and accepts his life as it is. ( Britannica) In today’s
The deeper message that the movie was trying to portray is don’t give up on your dreams. Nathaniel Ayers was in such an unfortunate position yet with a little help from his friend he was on track to being a respected prodigy. The Soloist matches the Learner Life’s value Compassion. Compassion is sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others. Steve Lopez shows compassion when he helps Nathaniel Ayers, Lopez didn’t have to do any of the things he did.
Don’t make no difference who the guy is, long’s he’s with you. I tell ya,’ he cried, ‘I tell ya a guy get’s too lonely an’ he gets sick” (69). Crooks’ illustrates that his lack of companionship manifests itself physically and emotionally. The only alleviation of these symptoms for Crooks occurs when he offers to work on Candy, George, and Lennie’s farm (Steinbeck 76). Similarly, Curley’s wife seeks out other people as a way to cope with her loneliness.