In order to achieve a goal, sometimes you must do the very opposite to achieve the aimed result. It sounds counterintuitive in the beginning, but it may lead to outstanding outcome. In “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver, that is precisely what happened. The short story is about a man whose wife invited her old friend, Robert, to visit them at their home. He is not enthusiastic and annoyed about the visit claiming that the Robert’s blindness bothers him. However, he had an epiphany when he got to spend time with the blind man. The main protagonist is a shallow man with low self-esteem. His relationship with his wife can be best described as aloof. The blind man Robert, on the other hand, has a close relationship with the wife. He is caring and
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Awkwardly, they end up watching a television about cathedral. Robert asks the protagonist to describe a cathedral so he can visualize it, but the protagonist is not able to do so. To solve the problem, Robert comes up with the idea of them drawing it together. The blind man then asks the main character to close his eyes. The main character reluctantly agrees to both. His hands intimately touch Robert’s as they draw. The two figuratively become one figure whose mission is to draw a cathedral. Their merge have made the protagonist to understand Robert and ultimately himself and the world. He finally sees Robert, not the blind man Robert but the real admirable Robert. The Robert that treats him with warm respect and love despite his awareness of the protagonist’s judgment of him. This is when the protagonist had an epiphany, even though the author does not explicitly say it. On page 97 the protagonist describes, “My eyes were still closed. I was in my house. I knew that. But I didn’t feel like I was inside anything. It’s really something.” The protagonist has finally escaped the trap of anger, conceit and jealousy. He understands the world much better now that he leaves his house, figuratively and see the view from another
Awkwardly, they end up watching a television about cathedral. Robert asks the protagonist to describe a cathedral so he can visualize it, but the protagonist is not able to do so. To solve the problem, Robert comes up with the idea of them drawing it together. The blind man then asks the main character to close his eyes. The main character reluctantly agrees to both. His hands intimately touch Robert’s as they draw. The two figuratively become one figure whose mission is to draw a cathedral. Their merge have made the protagonist to understand Robert and ultimately himself and the world. He finally sees Robert, not the blind man Robert but the real admirable Robert. The Robert that treats him with warm respect and love despite his awareness of the protagonist’s judgment of him. This is when the protagonist had an epiphany, even though the author does not explicitly say it. On page 97 the protagonist describes, “My eyes were still closed. I was in my house. I knew that. But I didn’t feel like I was inside anything. It’s really something.” The protagonist has finally escaped the trap of anger, conceit and jealousy. He understands the world much better now that he leaves his house, figuratively and see the view from another