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.
This quote is a perfect example of this. Sybil is also unaware of her son’s problems. Throughout the play she keeps getting surprises about her son -and not good ones. At the beginning of the play she finds out from Gerald that Eric has a drinking problem, when he says“ I have gathered that he does drink pretty hard.” This leaves Mrs Birling astonished, baffled and quite angry. She reacts the same when she finds out about Eric being the father of the baby.
She is obviously content with the route she has chosen to entertain Bovanne, and Bovanne is as well. Ms. Hazel’s son, Task, is one to approach her. He claims that his mother’s dress was too short and low-cut for “a woman her age.” As much as an independent woman she proves to be, during the time period she embraced the liberation women were given. Ms. Hazel shows unconditional affection to the elders in her community, although her community does not always approve of her tactics. She remembers
In the novels, the Diallos are much more capable parents than Baba. Firstly, both Mr. and Mrs. Diallo are caring and want the best for their daughter, Aminata. Aminata recalls her father’s caring manner, “Put those silly children out of your mind, Papa said. Stay close to your Mama and me, don’t go out wandering alone, and you will be fine.” (Hill, 17-18) In fear of stories about missing children, Aminata approaches her parents. This presents a close relationship between the two because Aminata is comfortable speaking to her parents about her concerns.
Actually, she often took up for the hurtful comments he said about her by brushing them off or joking. In addition, Sheila tuned out all of the red flags that had occurred in her relationship. For example, her husband’s relationship was closer to her [Sheila’s] best friend than her [Sheila]. On the Airplane scene, Mike and Sheila’s best friend decided to sit together, leaving Sheila by herself. This is abnormal because no woman in her right mind would ever stand for something like that.
She sends him a good-luck pebble she found on the Jersey shoreline. This tells us that Martha does care about him and thinks about him while she is back at home. Lieutenant Cross states in the story that he loves Martha plenty of times but I do not think he truly loves her. He is more in love with the idea of her. He is able to get through the days by thinking of her and dreaming about being with her in the moment.
“Changing of Times”: A Good Man Is Hard to Find “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” by (Mary) Flannery O’Conner is a sad tail of how a family’s vacation ends before it even starts. The story is told by the grandmother who is not happy with her son’s choice where to vacation. Even though she is not happy, she is thankful to be going, and accompanies her son with his wife and three young children. The story shows many forms of irony that are quite amusing. The story starts out with the family sitting around, going about their everyday life, paying the poor grandmother no mind whatsoever.
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).
Keller describes her experience as “unspeakable happiness” when she reads her favorite stories to her family who have supported her throughout her battles. She calls speech a “blessing” because this passion and desire that she longs for is keeping her fight half the battle. By trying to improve on her senses does not come natural to her, but has created a liaison with her family who believe in her. The Keller family has an affectionate and kind relationship that made it easy and enjoyable for each of them to help each other. As Ms. Keller describes her experience, she is not only talking to people who cannot hear or talk but also the families who should be willful to help and support in any way their family members who want to learn to be given their lost abilities.
Scout was too young to really feel the despair Jem does, so she is not as affected. She continues to wonder about her mother, because she can see how much her brother misses her. The emotional courage Jem shows may inspire Scout by showing her that crying is not a bad thing. Papa in “Papa Who Wakes Up Crying in the Dark” and Jem in To Kill a Mockingbird both express emotional courage when they show their sadness at the loss of family. People shouldn’t be afraid to show emotion; It is what makes each of us unique, after all.