Cathedral Assignment

Kiaya Nickens

Mr. Sanchez

Christian in the World –p.8

October 1, 2012

Homework: Cathedral Assignment

1. Why was the narrator not looking forward to the visit of the blind man? What do his feelings reveal about his character?

The narrator was not looking forward to the visit of the blind man (Wife’s friend) because first it was no one the narrator knew, so why should he be excited for someone he had to interest in seeing. Besides not knowing him the main reason why the narrator wasn’t enthusiastic about having the narrator stay in his house was the mere fact that he was blind. The narrator already had a negative perception of what blind people are like. The narrator thought that blind people moved slowly and rarely laughed at anything because they did not know what was going on. His feelings reveal that his character is very selfish and self centered. Throughout the story the narrators wife has expressed how important it is when the blind man comes to visit that they show hospitality and kindness toward him. But the entire time the blind man is there he acts rude and obnoxious toward him.

2. Is it possible to read the experience the narrator’s wife had of Robert touching her face as an experience of being “seen” by him? How is her writing of poetry related to her desire to be seen? How does her attempted suicide also relate to her desire to be seen?

Yes indeed, at the end of the narrator’s wife summer with the blind man, the blind man asked the narrator’s wife if it would be okay if he touched her face. It is described that the blind man touched all over her face, he touched her lips, mouth etc. Although he was blind, Robert finally was able to see someone. In my opinion his experience of touching her face correlates to him experiencing what type of person she really was. He got to connect what she did for him that summer and the feeling of her face. Robert put together her personality and felt her face in attempt to actually see someone for the first time.  In this story, interestingly enough Robert is the only person that in essence actually sees the narrator’s wife. He knows her dislikes and likes, which includes her writing poetry. And in her attempt to read poetry to the narrator (her husband) she tries to get him to actually see her instead of living a life of bore and mundane routine. Again, the narrators wife’s attempt to suicide is also a way of her simply attempting for her to get her husband to actually notice her in the sense of knowing her desires.

3. What does it mean to receive another’s friend? Consider: “‘If you love me,’ she said, ‘you can do this for me. If you don’t love me, okay. But if you had a friend, any friend, and the friend came to visit, I’d make him feel comfortable’” (359).

To receive another’s friend means that you would accept and welcome someone regardless of what your preference to people maybe. Regardless to what group of people you like or dislike you will receive someone you care about friend simply because care about that person not necessarily their friend. You would receive them in your heart, in the sense you would welcome them within your heart to be nice and cordial toward them.

4. Consider page 360. Contrary to the narrator’s response of pity and disgust, do you think that Robert “saw” Beulah? What does it mean, more deeply, to see and be seen?

Beulah was Roberts’s wife, for eight years before she died of cancer. They lived together and shared some of life’s most intimate moments shared the narrator. The narrator began to have pity for the woman, she could never be seen in the sense of beauty she see’s in herself everyday because the man she married was blind. But of course we have learned throughout this novel that Robert although he is blind is very capable of seeing people for what they really are. I do not think that Robert saw Beulah the same as he saw the narrator’s wife. The way he described their relationship, it does not seem as though they had as intimate of relationship as the narrator’s wife and Robert.

5. Why do the characters smoke pot? What does it reveal of their desire?

The characters in the novel smoke pot, for a sense of fulfillment. They seek the desire of fulfillment within their life. In this case the desire of the narrator might be that he wants the blind man out of his house. And since this is not happening anytime soon, he uses pot to help ease what he desires but cannot obtain. And in Roberts’s case, he may smoke pot because he has a desire for love. And pot may fulfill the temporary sensation of fulfillment for him.

 6. “In the olden days, God was an important part of everyone’s life. You could tell this from their cathedral-building” (372). What do churches reveal about what the culture thinks about God? Why?

The churches reveal that God in present in everyone’s life because wherever you go you, it is common that you will see a church. And in this novel the Cathedral buildings show that God had a very high and mighty characteristic sense to him based on how Cathedral building were described. They are described as luxurious, high and mighty which suggest that the people of this culture very much respected God. They respected him to the point where the building that represented him had to be up to his standards.

7. Why does the narrator have difficulty describing a cathedral? What does he see with his eyes closed at the close of the story? Why? 

The narrator has difficulty describing a cathedral because the narrator finds no meaning in the Cathedral that are on the televisions. He cannot see the beauty that lies within the Cathedrals. At the end of the story he sees with his eyes closed what a Cathedral actually is. When Robert instructs him to draw a Cathedral he comes to finally “see” what lies within a Cathedral because he took the time and actually looked.

Summary on Cathedral:

In the beginning of the novel the two out of the three main characters are introduced. Those characters being the narrator and the narrators wife. The narrator is generally unhappy at the situation at hand. His wife has decided to invite an old friend of hers that she used to work with named Robert. The narrator is not enthused about Robert coming to stay with them at all, because he will feel uncomfortable because Robert is blind. There is a slight tangent after Robert is introduced his presence. It talks in detail about how Robert and the narrators wife know each other. The two worked together about ten years ago. She worked from him as basically a caretaker for the summer. At the end of the summer Robert touched the narrators wife’s face, and at the moment he learned what is was like to actually “see” something. After that it is revealed that Robert got a new caretaker that eventually became his wife. And after being married for eight years, his wife Beulah died of cancer. Robert goes on to tell the audience he has never known a blind person, but Robert does not fit the description of what he sees on television. He doesn’t wear dark sunglasses or anything like that, and above all Robert smokes cigarettes. The narrator says he didn’t know blind people could smoke. At this point they are finished dinner and go into the living room to watch television and talk to one another. Robert and the narrators wife monopolize the conversation, and the narrator hopes that at some point his wife will began talking about him. But she doesn’t, after talking for a long time she falls asleep. And then it is just Robert and the narrator together. On television there is a program that is talking about Cathedrals. Robert asks the narrator to describe to him what a Cathedral looks like, but the narrator does not do a very good job because he doesn’t care about Cathedrals. Then Robert asks him to turn off the television and close his eyes and draw a Cathedral. While the narrator draws this cathedral Roberts hand are on top of his. When the narrator is done with his drawing Robert asks him to open his eyes to see what he has drawn. But the narrator doesn’t open his eyes, he simply says that the drawing is really something with his eyes still closed