He creates a world in which he could place his thoughts, his feelings, and ultimately his innermost being. This is marked by his descriptions of the blind: “My idea of blindness came from the movies. In the movies, the blind moved slowly and never laughed. Sometimes they were led by seeing-eye dogs” (314). Despite the emotional and psychological disconnection, it is apparent that the narrator has some feeling.
“Disability is a matter of perception. If you can do at least one thing well, you’re needed by someone” says Martina Navratilova. There is a great misconception that many have learned to believe: that the disabled are less capable than the able-bodied. The short documentary "Breathing Lessons" about Mark O'Brien, a poet/writer who was confined to an Iron Lung as a result of polio, portrays a disfigured man that could mold great works of art through his mastery of the English language despite his disability. The short story "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver is about a figuratively blind man who receives the gift of sight from a literally blind man.
We clearly see prejudice in the narrator’s character from the starting gate of the story. In the beginning of the story, the narrator says, “In the movies, the blind moved slowly and never laughed. Sometimes they were led by seeing-eye dogs.” Even before the arrival of the blind man, the narrator has a predetermined idea that blinds are depressed and slow people who are incapable of functioning without their seeing canine. The fact that “The narrator” got his stereotype from the movies and believes in them not only shows how puerile and biased he is but also his ignorance. He also shows his prejudice rude comments by asking Robert, “What side of the train did you sit on?” The narrator lives in a protected home and Robert’s coming over to stay the night is an assault on his stereotypical fort.
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,
The speaker was blind to himself and his own outlooks, and then, when a blind man that visited gave him the ability to see through his own eyes by seeing life through a different perspective, which has changed her husband views. The speaker in Raymond Carver’s Cathedral develops from being visionless to seeing. In the story Cathedral, the wife of an Officer found a job in the advertisement paper reading to a blind man. She worked to have money while her husband was at Officer Training School. During the time that was spent working with the blind man, they developed a friendship, which have kept the wife of the officer and Robert in touch for many years.
The movies that the narrator had seen with blind people in them have given him the impression that dark glasses are a necessity for all blind people, but that is clearly not the case. Another prejudice that the narrator has towards blind people is that they must not be able to eat their food like normal people. He “watched [Robert eating] with admiration as he used his knife and fork on the meat” (32). He was amazed that Robert was able to use his utensils by himself and did not need anybody’s help so that he could eat. Throughout the story, Robert is slowly putting prejudices of blind people to
When she had doubt about Martin she spoke to the priest, her sisters and also Martin’s uncle, but it wasn’t acted upon. Even though she had doubt she still lived with him because she was afraid of the consequences of her admitting that she has accepted a stranger into her home and bed. During the trial when she spoke up about knowing the man she was with wasn’t Martin she did the right thing and come up front with it. Even though she was being just she was the one that was greatly affected by it because the man which was treating her well was executed and the man she was married
Montag is her family, but she doesn't consider him as much as a family compaired to the parlor walls. Another example that Mildred should start thinking for herself is she pulled the alarm on her own husband, Montag. Montag did something against the law and Mildred didn't want to get into trouble so as a result of it, "she pulled the alarm" (Bradbury 115). She lost her husband because she listened to the
With everything that has gone on in John’s past, a good wife would be there for John supporting him along the way, yet Kathy does the exact opposite. It was a big step for John to be willing to talk to Kathy about his issues, “Kath, listen, I need to tell you this. Something’s wrong, I’ve done things” (74) but Kathy shoots John down when he finally wants to talk about his past. She wouldn’t let him talk to her about it, and “she seemed nervous as if she was aware of certain truths but could not bear to know what she knew, which was in the nature of their love”(74). Kathy was being a selfish wife because she did not want to listen to, nor talk about John’s issues, and instead she chooses to ignore them.
John’s biggest downfall in this story is the fact that he is stuck with the unfortunate task of being not only his wife’s lover, but also her doctor. Instead of being a concerned husband and being there for his wife mentally, he took a more clinical attitude to the situation and there for our narrator was left to her own devises. Also John only knows the “pattern” of his wife and does not see the trapped woman with in. John truly care for his wife and is trying everything in his power to help and cure her. Unfortunately the only way he knows how to help her it by treating her as a medical patient or as an object and not as a person who needed love, not just care.