The narrator’s obvious bitterness toward Robert is clearly conveyed in this statement by the lack of sensitivity in his use of the term “dead wife”. In addition, the narrator’s repeated use of the term “blind man” when referring to Robert makes is clear to the reader that he only sees the handicap Robert possesses, not who he really is as a person. This sets the stage for the remainder of the story. The narrator’s wife has a long history with the blind man and his account of their
She grew up learning about Jesus, but was never full aware about the Sabbath until her later years, when she began questioning things and reading for herself. She became an Adventist and attended Healdsburg College, where she became a fill in teacher for an absent math teacher. His father, Robert Hare, one of 24 siblings, was an early convert into Seventh-day Adventism in New Zealand by S. N. Haskill. Haskill recommended that he go to Healdsburg College to “prepare for the ministry.” Healdsburg College is then where Robert and Henrietta met. He got ordained, and they got married shortly after.
Failures of the Second Great Awakening were small. They included ones such as Christian clergymen not being able to stop the Sunday mail so people can focus on god that day. Important leaders in this movement were Charles Brandison (evangelical leader who emphasized person conversion experiences and gave intense sermons), Barton W. Stone (another very effective preacher of the awakening), and Alexander and Thomas Campbell (Alexander was a leader, Thomas was a Presbyterian minister). The main cause of educational reform was the new thought brought about by the Enlightenment Movement. This movement is essentially why the US became an independent country and with its independence and the new style of thinking, new ideas like a desire to institute mandatory public education came about.
Robert, an old friend from his wife teaches the narrator a great lesson about life and how “learning never ends.” Robert opens the eyes of the narrator. The short story “Cathedral” is about “the blind leading the blind” in the sense that Robert, a physically blind person, leads the narrator, a spiritually blind person, to a greater understanding about life. One of the reasons the narrator is consider a spiritually blind person is because he displays lack of understanding towards blind people. The reader is able to see that the narrator is prejudice towards blind people. In the story, the narrator says “and his being blind bothered me.” The narrator is a reflection of prejudice and the stereotypes in society.
There are so many solutions that people in the church can contribute to concerning social injustice. For example, people can arrange to meet with their pastor to bring up topics in church that would bring awareness to social injustice and that could cause a chain reaction for others to start talking about issues of society in a way that would inspire action. Also, someone could create a presentation about social issues and present it in their church. I feel the churches in today’s society do not deal with social justice issues, even though they may discuss them, but that is the only length they will go to. Churches need to go beyond just talking about social justice issues.
Cathedral How do you explain a cathedral to a blind man? The narrator says that his wife’s blind friend, whose wife has just died, is going to spend the night at their house. He isn't looking forward to the blind man's visit because he says his presence will be uncomfortable. The article "Psychological Distance in Raymond Carver's Cathedral" by Polly Rose Peterson, analyzes the short story by noting the grammatical aspects of the story's narration. Demonstrative and possessive pronouns are words that create the "psychological distance" between the narrator and the characters.
The dialog was about how the narrator did not have in blind friends and with sarcasm he says, “Maybe I could take him bowling,” (Carver) the author shows the narrator lack of understanding of his wife friendship with the blind man. Maybe because of his limited experience with a blind person and understand where he is coming from. This lack of understand by the narrator gives the reader a little insight on the relationship be him and his wife. Where the husband feels like an outsider when Robert is joined them for the night. Due to the fact, he did take the time to understand his wife and her
The narrator’s original point of view is that Robert is from his wives past so he must be a threat to him, so jealousy is appealed, “This blind man, an old friend of my wives … I wasn’t enthusiastic about the visit”(88). He also assumes that blindness was such a major weakness that Robert was completely inferior to himself. “My idea of blindness came form the movies … A blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to”(88). This is the narrator’s ignorance at play. He also thinks blind people cant smoke cigarettes.
Cathedral “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver is illustrated on the irony of two men. One with physical sight but is spiritually blind and another which is physically blind but has spiritual insight. The main characters are the narrator and his wife, who are both nameless in the story and the blind man Robert. In the beginning of the story the narrator is nothing but with the help of the blind man he becomes something at the end of the story. The narrator is pathologically jealous, smart, witty, and insecure.
Michael Hyatt Dr. Tuttle English 250 7 October 2014 Personal Response: Cathedral by Raymond Carver I really enjoyed the short story by Raymond Carver called “Cathedral”. The short story is generally about a blind man coming to visit a women and her husband. In the beginning of the story the husband to me seems to be the one that is blind. By observing how the husband acted and speaks to Robert, the blind man, I could see that the husband seemed to be very uncomfortable and misunderstanding of Robert and his condition. The husband struggles with trying to figure out what to do or say around Robert.