Cathedral Essay - Grade: A PDF

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essay on the cathedral...

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There is no doubt that every individual in this universe has judged a book by its cover. It is how we as people determine our own perspectives and base day to day decisions. But when doing this, we often judge everything that attracts the eye and in some cases become prejudice and ignorant. In the “Cathedral”, Carver utilizes vision to portray character development by showing how a person's opinions can change when they fully understand others struggles. In the story, there is a wife and husband who have been married for years and throughout the marriage the wife has corresponded with a blind man that she used to read to and take care of. The husband didn't like the fact that the man was blind which led him to be incredibly ignorant towards a person he's never met; he uses the blind man's disability to justify his judgement. The husband expresses his opinion about the blind man consistently by declaring, “A woman whose husband could never read the expression on her face, be it misery or something better. Someone who could wear makeup or not—what difference to him? She could if she wanted, wear green eye-shadow around one eye, a straight pin in her nostril, yellow slacks, and purple shoes, no matter.” This quote shows how much animosity the husband projects onto a person he doesn't understand. The quote at the end of page 4 and the start of page 5 is when the husband asks what side of the train he sat on , “ “Did you have a good train ride?” I said, “Which side of the train did you sit on, by the way?” “What a question, which side!” my wife said. “What’s it matter which side?” “Right side,” the blind man said. Hence, it is evident the husband is attempting to create

conversation. However, he is still unsuccessful at understanding and connecting to the blind man and his lifestyle. The last section in the story is when the husband is drawing the cathedral. He closed his eyes and finally understood the blind man. “ So we kept on with it. His fingers rode my fingers as my hand went over the paper. It was like nothing else in my life up to now. Then he said, “I think that’s it. I think you got it,” he said. “Take a look. What do you think?” But I had my eyes closed. I thought I’d keep them that way for a little longer. I thought it was something I ought to do. “Well?” he said. “Are you looking?” 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,” I said. This quote shows how the husband finally understands the blind man's perspective. In conclusion there is no doubt that every individual in this universe has judged a book by its cover. It is how we as people determine our own perspectives and base day to day decisions. But when doing this, we often judge everything that attracts the eye and in some cases become prejudice and ignorant. I have read that Carver finishes “Cathedral” with a zero ending leaving the narrator with his eyes closed, imagining the cathedral he has just drawn with Robert. A zero ending is an ending that doesn’t neatly tie up the strands of a story. It may not even seem like an ending in some cases. Instead of tacking on a embellished conclusion that leaves everyone satisfied, Carver often stops his stories abruptly, at the moment when his characters are faced with a stark realization, glimmer of hope, or wall of confusion....