Cathedral

In the story Cathedral by Raymond Carver, the narrator's wife has a friend who is blind that comes to visit and stay with them. The narrator is not exactly looking forward to the blind man, Robert, staying with him. When the narrator first meets the Robert, he judges him instantly and does not know how to act around him. He tells Robert he has never met a blind man before and found it interesting that he could have a beard. As the story continues, the narrator begins to realize that Robert is not much different from a "normal" person. The narrator and the blind man talk and begin to develop a relationship. By the end of the story, the narrator and blind man are watching television and the blind man tells the narrator to draw a cathedral with his eyes closed. By doing this, it showed the narrator that there is a different way to "see" something. Not physically, but to see the deeper meaning behind an object. This gave the narrator a greater understanding of what it means to really "see."

1. The narrator was not looking forward to the blind man's visit because he had never met this man before and he figured since the man was blind, he would be an inconvenience. This reveals that the narrator is judgmental and bases his judgements on stereotypes.

2. It is possible to read the experience the narrator's wife as an experience of being "seen" when Robert touched her face. When he did this, he could was able to "see" more to her than just an appearance. When most people see someone, the first thing they see is their appearance. When Robert touched her face, he saw more than what would meet the eye. He could tell her mood, read her expression, and was more intimate with her than most people get when they are confronted. The wife's attempt at suicide relates to her desires to be seen because it was a sign that she wanted to be seen for more an her appearance, she wanted to be understood. She desired someone to see her for who she is inside and see a deeper meaning within her.

3. To receive another's friend means to accept another's friend and make an effort to develop a relationship with him or her. It means that you are willing to create a friendship for the sake of another friend. You have to do whatever it takes to make this person feel comfortable and happy to please your friend. Whether by putting aside any differences or opinions about that person, you must make them feel as though they are welcomed in your presence and make your friend happy.

4. Even though Robert never physically "saw" his wife Beulah, I think he saw and fell in love with who she was as a person, based on her personality, how she treated him, and her love for him. To "see" is simply to look without finding a deeper meaning. To be seen means to look deeper into an object or person and find the meaning of it and see that person or thing for more than who or what it is. The blind man was able to find true love because he "saw" his wife for who she was and couldn't make judgements based off of appearance.

5. I think the characters in this story smoke pot to help get comfortable with one another. At first, it seemed a bit tense when the blind man first came to the house and one way that they were able to relax and become more comfortable with each other was to smoke pot.

6. The churches reveal what cultures think about God by how God is viewed. In the Cathedral, God was seen as the King or the one who had all the power. God was looked up to and depended on. Different cultures could have different opinions about God's place. Cultures who see God as a significant part of their lives will put God before others, whereas cultures who don't see God as a very important part of their lives won't put Him before their other priorities.

7. At the end of the story, the narrator has difficulty drawing the Cathedral with his eyes closed. When he begins to draw the cathedral, he begins to "see." He saw the meaning behind the cathedral and what it symbolizes. The narrator finally realized what the blind man sees, which is based off of senses and deeper meanings. The narrator "sees" like the blind man by doing this because he experiences what it is like to take away your physical sight and only base your actions on what you know and can sense.