Caver (1) tells a story of the discovery of the self. In it, he talks about a blind man who visits the narrator’s house. The blind man seems so informed about life’s issues, and they end up discussing the issue of the cathedral. Through the narration, the reader realizes that there are some aspects of life that he does not fully understand and is helped by the blind man to do so.
Fanickz (1) talks about this issue and his critique are acceptable for this essay. He sees the cathedral as a story of discovery of the self. Though the narrator thought that he could learn nothing from the blind man, he soon learnt that there was more than he expected. When they were talking about the cathedral, the narrator realizes that he does not fully understand himself. Even as they draw the cathedral together, he realizes that he does not understand himself fully. This is a form of self and calm acceptance. At the end of the story, the narrator and the old man draw together with their eyes closed, an act that makes the narrator realize that he does not fully understand himself. The blind man is the venue through which he reaches self understanding.
Henningfield (1) on the other side looks at the story from a different angle. He gives it different interpretations which make the reader focus heavily on the blind man and the narrator as people from two different worlds: the sighted and the non-sighted. However, this interpretation can be quite misleading to the meaning of the story. As such, the story can be seen as more of a story about the discovery of the self.
Works Cited
Fanickz. The Calm, A Small Good Thing and the Cathedral. 2007. (pdf)
Henningsfield, Diane Andrews. Cathedral. 2002. (pdf)
Raymond, Carver. Cathedral. N.d. web, 9th April 2012, https://mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com/attachment/u/0/?ui=2&ik=daf2bdca77&view=att&th=136970bf03da8b58&attid=0.1&disp=vah&realattid=f_h0thn0wt0&safe=1&zw&saduie=AG9B_P854A8htea0JHaPvzou9Eyd&sadet=1333975534211&sads=N2dSl2lH_EoTf7ocnSZMZTDxxCI&sadssc=1
