The Symbolism Of The Narrator In Raymond Carver's Cathedral

The short story “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver deals with a selfish man who is opened up to the world by a blind man. Indirectly, seeing rather then looking, is the author’s major theme in this story. Through repetition, tone, and language the narrator is portrayed as a self centered man who only cares about himself. The plot and structure of the short story has you wondering about the story until the very last sentences. The narrator throughout the whole story does not call anybody by their real name and does not care about anyone else’s lives or outlooks. He is only focused on his thoughts, but is opened up to a new world as the blind man teaches him how to see rather then look. The story starts off with the narrator being frustrated that his wife’s blind friend is coming to stay at their house. His wife used to work for this blind man, and now his wife died and he is coming to stay over their house for a few days. Without calling him by his real name, the narrator uses repetition by calling him the blind man every time he talks about him. Through a first person point of view the reader understands how the narrator thinks. For example, he goes on …show more content…
The symbol of churches and cathedrals explains how their is a higher or greater outlook on life, besides your own thoughts. As the narrator meets the blind man he is also introduced to this symbol which has a great impact on his life by the end. Before they meet, the narrator goes on to portray his views on the blind man and his wife’s past relationship. He goes on to state how pitiful this women’s life must have been without the pleasures of seeing the emotion through your partners eyes. While talking about what the blind man’s wife left him after she passed, the repetition of calling him the blind man stops. It is halted only to call Robert pathetic due to the imperfect gifts left