Analysis of the main character in ‘The Cathedral’
The Cathedral is a short story that tells more about a husband, wife and a blind man who happened to be their visitor. The visitor with the name Robert was a friend to the wife. She had worked for the blind in his home as his reader ten years ago as the narrator describes. The husband is not happy with the bind man who is to spend the night at their house. It is explained that the blind’s man wife had just died of cancer before the visit. The narrator continues explaining his experience with Robert the blind man at the living room.
The story covers many other characters that play a great role. Let’s see more of the main character who happens to be the narrator “the husband”. From the beginning of this story, the narrator seems to have a negative attitude on the blind man. The narrator shows this attitude the time he sees the blind man enters the compound (Carver 79). According to his view he thought that the blind man would come wearing some glasses to cover his eyes. This attitude continues even more in the house as they eat he thinks inside him of how the blind man was eating. The same continues and brings another character of the husband being so jealous for as they talk nothing turned out to him as the conversation covers the life the blind had with wife without mentioning his name.
From the beginning of the story the husband is seen carried away and being quite bland by the matter of love (Gale 45). As he tells of his wife’s first husband, it shows that he hinds something in him that shows that he even felt like their visitor would take away his wife too. This jealousy moves on even to the blind man that is shown Cleary after the dinner conversation that never turned on his favor since he wasn’t mentioned in the conversation as he desired. Even the at the incident when the husband sees the wife move a shrugged look on the blinds’ distinguished beard look, husband is still moved by the way blind calls the wife dear.
The art of drawing the cathedral while watching the TV program brings a direct point that the husband who does not believe in many things also does not believe in himself. The drawing takes some time to complete and after the entire husband says it’s not quite good (Carver 102). The narrator does not agree with the fact that the wife had just welcomed a blind man in their house not only to eat the super and go home but also to sleep. In other ways the husband feels okay and says that it shall be good time for he shall speed a couple of time not only drinking alcohol but also charting with the blind man (Runyon 112). They pass a good time together before the wife sleeps over on couch besides them.
The description of the husband on the blind man’s shows the sarcastic nature in the husband. A person at the age of forty becomes difficult to understand how they have never seen a blind man before. These points even ho the clothing description given as how the blind man wears (Gale 32). The description on the way the blind looked shows a humorous character on the husband. The description of the movement of the eye from one movement of one pupil while the other stagnates at the same point on top of a much white iris shows much humor. The blind does not smoke as they do not see the smoke they exhaled (Runyon 98). This is rytorically stated for smokers does not do it for the pleasure of seeing the smoke they smoke but it’s a joke given out by the husband to signify that the blind was not supposed to smoke at all. The repetitive way of asking the blind many questions as if they were sited with a man who could see shows that the husband was fugitive. The narrow minded husband views and discriminating thoughts of one stereotype are altered by a single experience the blind man give to him at that moment of one night sleep over.
Conclusion
The short story gives a good outline of the narrators view and encounter with the blind man-Robert. In the beginning it shows the negatives that comes over to the narrator concerning the encounter, how to handle the blind. On the other hand the wife tries for the best to make sure that Robert is comfortable. The fact that Robert had lost a wife, gives the narrator’s wife heart to take care of the blind. The wife acknowledges the fact that as much as the blind man lost the wife therefore there is a great need of comfort as the woman thinks of. The spirit comes over to the husband who now gains confident with the blinds stay. They dine together and gets over again to chart as they watch TV program that raises another topic of the night. The fact that the narrator is learning how to express himself when he can’t find words, it helps him express his feelings to the woman this brings happiness and healing at the end.
Work cited
Carver, Raymond. Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?, 2016. Print.
Gale, Cengage L. Study Guide for Raymond Carver's Cathedral. Detroit: Gale, Cengage Learning, n.d. Print.
Runyon, Randolph. Reading Raymond Carver. Syracuse, N.Y: Syracuse University Press, 1992. Print.
