Character Analysis OfCathedral By Raymond Carvers Cathedral

The life of the unnamed wife was a series of events. She received a job reading to a blind man in Seattle named Robert who she became very fond of. After some time, the wife married her childhood sweetheart who was a part of the military and ended up moving away. She kept in touch with Robert throughout her time overseas, the divorce and the marriage to her new husband. The two kept in touch, but began to drift apart until Roberts wife died and he came to visit the unnamed narrator and wife (Carver p.32-35). Once Robert walked through the door his appearance and personality surprised the narrator greatly. In Raymond Carver’s â€Å"Cathedral† the narrator is constantly judging Robert because of his disability. The narrators’ analysis of the†¦show more content†¦Along with the beard Robert was continually lighting up cigarettes and putting them in an ashtray (Carver p.36). This led the narrator to more confusion because Robert could not see the smoke from the cigarette and putting out the cigarette could not be easy for someone who is blind. It is also common that those who are blind wear dark glasses at all times to keep their eyes covered from the public, Robert was the exception. An additional stereotype given to the blind is that they are unable to live alone and care for themselves (â€Å"Top†). Before Robert came to visit he was married to his wife, Beulah. His wife passed away shortly before his appearance at the home of his old friend, but in the short time after his wife had passed and before he had met her, he had been caring for himself and living life alone without his disability slowing him down. Along with living alone Robert was able to transport himself to the train so he could visit his friend and her husband. As one can see being blind does not slow down a person physically, especially Robert. Throughout the story the narrator was treating Robert as if he had a disability and the wife treated him as if there was nothing strikingly different about him. Today people who are blind are treated as an outsider because people believe that they can’t do anything because they have a disability. In â€Å"Cathedral† the reader can see that being blind doesn’t slow Robert down or make him feel like an