Who I Am

The short story “Cathedral”, written by Raymond Carver, is told in first person. This means that the narrator himself is speaking. The narrator’s point of view is critical in our understanding of the story because it puts us in the mind of the narrator and shows us the type of person that he is. He is cruel, judgmental, racist, and an overall jerk, however, he does change throughout the story. He goes from being all of these horrible things to being a man who understands and actually feels it for himself. The point of view helps us understand this change because we can see into his mind and really get the sense of what is going on in his head and what he’s thinking and feeling. We also come to our understanding of the narrator because of the point of view that Carver chose. In this story, the narrator seems to be quite the jerk. Because of this, we don’t really like him. He comes off as judgmental and insensitive. We even get the idea that the narrator is disgusted by the blind man, Robert. “And his being blind bothered me” (33). That particular line has a great effect on the reader, and we don’t seem to like him. Not only is he rude, but he’s insensitive to people who aren’t considered normal. “A blind man in my house was not something that I looked forward to” (33). He didn’t even want Robert in his house. It’s as if the narrator doesn’t even consider him a person. The narrator views people with disabilities differently than everyone else, which would make sense because we are aware of his judgmental and cruel point of view. We are also under the impression that the narrator is a racist. “She told me a little about the blind man’s wife. Her name was Beulah. Beulah! That’s a name for a colored woman. ‘Was his wife a Negro?’ I asked” (34). This quote is especially important because we can see what he is thinking before he says anything. Carver always lets us see into the narrator’s mind and see his thoughts. He doesn’t seem to be the ideal person that you would want to be around because he is so cruel and rude. He is very insensitive to people who are disabled and he is racist. We even get the idea that he is very obsessed with himself. It seems to be all about him. These quotes from the narrator’s point of view show the reader just how big of a jerk he is. The narrator does what everyone does: he analyzes Robert. He calls him spiffy, however, he also calls him creepy. This goes to show the cruelty in the narrator’s personality. The narrator stares at Robert while he eats. “I watched with admiration as he used his knife and fork on the meat” (37). This is a very rude and judgmental manner that the narrator has. It’s almost as if the narrator is shocked that Robert can feed himself. We also get the sense that the narrator is jealous of the relationship that Robert and his wife have. This could be because he and his wife don’t have that same relationship. His behavior while they are talking is quite rude. He even gets up to turn the television off. The narrator’s wife wants Robert to feel comfortable and Robert replies that he is, however, the narrator is a different story. “I didn’t want to be left alone with a blind man” (38). The narrator says this in his mind. The thoughts that he as, or his point of view, are very disturbing to read. The narrator is a very cruel person. He can’t even be alone with Robert while his wife changes clothes. A change in the narrator’s character begins shortly after this incident. Robert asks the narrator to describe a cathedral to him, since he can’t visualize it. The narrator tries, but he fails miserably. This is a turning point in the narrator’s character. He owns up to the fact that he can’t describe a cathedral. Then, Robert suggests that they draw one together. This is quite possibly the climax of the story. They finally create an unbreakable bond when they draw the cathedral together. Robert tells the narrator to close his eyes. After a while Robert instructs him to open them, however, “But I had my eyes closed. I thought I’d keep them that way for a little longer…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” (42). This quote is very powerful because we can see that change within the narrator before he implies that he has changed. Robert had turned the narrator into a blind man himself. This is the major change that took place inside the narrator. The conflict that the narrator had within himself if now resolved. He no longer is judgmental, insensitive, disgusted, etc. He finally understands. The point of view that Carver chose did a number of things. We got a good sense of what type of person that the narrator is. We got to see the change that he went through. The point of view is very important in our overall understanding of the story and the meaning behind it. The narrator’s point of view changed drastically. He went from being cruel, judgmental, racist, and a jerk to someone who finally understands. He finally gets the bigger picture of life. In the beginning, we understood the narrator to be an awful person to be around. That changed when the narrator changed. The point of view helps us understand this change because we know the things that Robert and the narrator’s wife doesn’t know. We know that he has changed before they do. We know exactly what he’s thinking and feeling and that helps us understand, and even go through, this change that he goes through. This point of view was very effective in Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral”.