In Cathedral a blind man visits his in-laws in Connecticut, and while he’s there he also visits a friend. His friend is a woman that he’s grown to admire throughout the years. They became friends when she started to work for him, but after she left they continued to stay in touch through videotapes. They continue to stay in communication with one another, and he finally visits the woman and her husband while in Connecticut. Upon his visit, the husband is wary about the idea of having a blind man in his house. The husband also encounters surprises while he learns new things that challenge his initial perception of blind people. At the end of the story, the husband puts himself in the blind man’s shoes, by closing his eyes to assist the blind mind in drawing cathedrals.
I’ve always been kind of indifferent towards this story because I never really found much spark to it. I found it to be uneventful regarding conflict and climax. In my opinion, nothing monumental or interesting really happens. I also didn’t like the use of not using the character’s names. Instead Carver referred to the woman and man as “the husband” or “the wife” which irritated me because I’m so used to reading a story with character’s names.
1. The narrator was not looking forward to the visit of the blind man because he didn’t know the blind man which made him uncomfortable with the idea. He also didn’t like the idea of the man being blind because the thought of having a blind person in his house bothered him.
2. The blind man’s touching of the wife’s face represents the idea of the blind man “seeing” her because he’s trying to familiarize himself with the shape of her features to form pictures in his head that could help draw out a visual picture of her face. Her writing of the poetry relates to her desire to be seen because in poetry you can express emotions and feelings. She desires to show the blind man the influence he had on her emotions through the poems. Her attempted suicide relates to her desire to be seen because if she puts herself at risk, her actions will demand the attention of someone to care for her needs. Her vulnerability and drastic measures that she took to be “seen” revealed to her husband that she was unhappy.
3. Receiving someone else’s friend means taking the time out to get to know that person as if they were your own friend. It’s the act of veering away from your own personal opinions about that person to welcome them in order to make them feel comfortable.
4. I think Robert saw Beulah because he was able to see the real person that she was without the distraction of her appearance. Him being blind forced him to really understand Beulah because her face wasn’t the thing that drove his attraction to her but it was more so of the person inside of her. To see someone is to be able to be intuitive with their emotions, therefore you know what’s going on beneath the veil that they carry around. To be seen by someone else is to have someone that understands and knows you well without having to seek for abnormalities in your personality.
5. The characters smoke pot to pass time and to relieve the uncomfortable air while in conversation with someone. The act of two people smoking pot together allows them to have one common thing to share and discuss, instead of focusing on the awkward pauses.
6. The churches reveal that the people think that God is a powerful being who is lavish and superior to all other people. I concluded this because these cathedrals are grand and uphold respect for its true purpose which is God.
7. The author had a hard time describing the cathedral because he didn’t know how to describe the idea of a cathedral to a man who had never seen one before. The husband “sees” beyond his visual capabilities when he closes his eyes.
No comments:
Post a Comment