Blindness In Cathedral By Robert Carver

Robert Carver uses the character Bub, in his short story “Cathedral”, to demonstrate the difference between being physically blind and emotionally blind. Bub proves that he is capable of seeing the physical things around him, such as his wife, his home, his marijuana, and even the blind man Robert, who eventually changes his outlook on life. However, these sights are all on the surface and have no deep meaning to Bub and his one track minded life style. In fact others authors including Mark Facknitz, Polly Rose Peterson, and Collin Messer, view Bubs character as one that struggles, but eventually finds his way to a healthy transition. Although by the end of the text, Bub proves that his emotional blindness can be undone, not instantaneously, but over time, similar to the changes a cathedral makes …show more content…
In fact Bub does not seem to enjoy most aspects of his life, especially when it comes to his job. “How long had I been in my present position? (Three years.) Did I like my work? (I didn’t.) Was I going to stay with it? (What were the options?)” (Carver 38). He uses his walls to deal with the fact that he cannot stand his current job. He smokes and drinks to cope with what he feels are his life’s disappointments, completely detaching himself from reality. In his essay “The Calm” Mark A. R. Facknitz discusses how complex and detailed the characters in Raymond Carver’s short story “Cathedral” really are. “Carver’s penetration of characters is honest and fast. But they compose a diminished race – alcoholics, obsessives, drifters, and other losers who are thoroughly thrashed by life in the first round” (Facknitz, 1). He then explains the importance of the characters discovering their metal issues and advancing slowly with the help of grace. Bub can also be seen to be very detached from his wife, who is nameless in the entirety of the short