# data[].attributes.body
The Narrator’s Epiphany

In the beginning of the story, the narrator holds a strong prejudice against Robert, the blind man. He doesn’t look forward to meeting him and looks down upon him, considering him pathetic. The narrator also holds no sympathy for Robert, despite the fact that his wife has recently passed away. After spending time with Robert and interacting with him, though, his attitude and opinion shifts. The act of drawing the cathedral with Robert triggers an epiphany in the narrator, as he realizes that the blind are not the crippled and pitiful beings that he once assumed. The narrator also realizes that he himself is capable of understanding the blind man’s situation and how he has been able to overcome the obstacles that come with being blind. This gives the narrator a new sense of viewing the world through a more accepting and understanding lens.

# data[].attributes.body
“I’m imagining now- her last thought maybe this: that he never even knew what she looked like, and she on an express to the grave. Robert was left with a small insurance policy and half of a twenty-peso Mexican coin. The other half of the coin went into the box with her. Pathetic.” (1082)

The narrator is bigoted and narrow-minded. He scours at the fact that the blind man can’t see, essentially blaming him for his handicap and assuming his own superiority. Ironically, the narrator lacks the ability to see as well. Robert is physically blind, but the narrator is blind Robert’s world.

“The blind man said, ‘My dear, I have two TVs. I have  a color set and a black-and-white thing, an old relic. It’s funny, but if I turn the TV on, and I’m always turning it on, I turn on the color set. It’s funny, don’t you think?’” (1084)

The fact that Robert prefers the color TV, despite the fact that he can’t see the difference between it and the black-and-white set, could symbolize the idea that although he is blind, he can actually see on a deeper level. He uses the color set, which could represent his profound understanding of the world. The black-and-white set, which he doesn’t use, might symbolize the narrator’s initial viewpoint, biased and uninformed.

“My eyes were still closed. I was in my house. I knew that. But I didn't feel like I was inside anything.” (1089)

After the narrator draws the cathedral, he finally transcends his naive attitude, escaping the boundaries of his prejudice. His house could represent that bias, and he doesn’t feel like he’s limited by it anymore.

# data[].attributes.body
One can overcome prejudice through exposure.

Although the narrator is originally prejudiced against the blind man, he ultimately conquers his ignorance, forming a strong bond with Robert after he gets to know him. Once he is willing to put himself in the situation of the blind man by closing his eyes as he draws, he realizes that he is able to overcome his prejudice and accept the blind man as normal.

# data[].attributes.body
Exposition: All of the characters are introduced with exposition which starts from the past and transitions into the present.

Rising Action: The blind man arrives and they all introduce each other. They then go to enjoy some dinner and spend some time watching TV.

Climax: The blind man asks the husband (narrator) to explain to him what a cathedral looks like. The husband ends up drawing it with his eyes closed having the blind man hold his hand.

Falling Action: The husband begins to feel somewhat enlightened due to his new experience.

Resolution: The husband realizes the error in his ways (prejudice towards the blind man).

# data[].attributes.body
The story is told from the point of view of the husband and he tells it as though he is telling a friend (as in the audience is a friend of his).

# data[].attributes.body
Husband: A rather prejudiced man who naturally hates the blind man before he even meets him. He however, ends up learning a lot from him and becomes in a way enlightened.

Wife: She used to work for the blind man and read stories for him, she was great friends with him and still is now. She introduces the husband and the blind man early into the story.

Blind man: The main character of the story who is rather controversial to start but he ends up teaching a value lesson towards the end of the book.

Beulah: She was the blind man's ex-wife and died of cancer a few years prior.

# data[].attributes.body
The story takes place in the narrator’s and his wife’s home somewhere in New York. It is presumably a middle class location. While this is the main setting of the story there are instances where the story is told in the past, of which takes place at the blind man’s home and on the train to New York.

The setting does not have much hold on the story itself, as I could envision this story occuring in any state or developed nation.

# data[].attributes.body
The story begins with the narrator’s wife telling him that her blind friend (of whom she worked as a reader for several years) will be visiting them for a night as he travels to see his family. The narrator initially has a prejudice towards the blind man and makes several remarks in his mind degrading him for his blindness. When the blind man arrives to the narrator’s home, his wife and the blind man are happy to finally meet in person, but the narrator is hesitant. The three have a large feast and drink through the night, eventually leading to the narrator and the blind man having cannabis. After the wife goes to bed, leaving the blind man and the narrator to talk, the two begin to watch television and converse. The narrator is able to describe everything that is displayed on the TV until a cathedral comes up. The narrator asks for the blind man to draw the cathedral, to which he holds the narrator's hand while he draws. This drawing experience triggers an epiphany for the narrator, realizing that his conception of the blind man has been false, especially when he puts himself in the blind man’s situation.

# data[].attributes.body
Short Story Collections

Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?

What We Talk About When We Talk About Love

Furious Sessions and Other Stories

Cathedral

# data[].attributes.body
Raymond Carver

Born in 1938, Clatskanie, Oregon

Creative Writer, short story writer, and poet

Influences include Ernest Hemingway, Flannery O'Conner, Anton Chekhov. Influenced his style of writing and composition of short stories.

Participated in the Iowa Writers Workshop (Graduate level creative writing program through Iowa University, very prestigious)

Credited with revitalizing American short story writing during the 1980s through his stories.

Was an Alcoholic, became sober through Alcoholics Anonymous but died in 1988 because of lung cancer.