The Blind Man Raymond Carver

The narrator's ignorance and predisposed assumptions of what he knows about Robert, what he thinks he knows, and what he has observed, causes him to be shallow and standoffish. Upon Robert's arrival, the narrator describes his appearance using descriptive words with negative connotation; “This blind man was late forties, a heavy-set, balding man with stooped shoulders, as if he carried a great weight there. He wore brown slacks, brown shoes, a light-brown shirt, a tie, a sports coat. Spiffy” (Carver, 5). The narrator’s description, not only subconsciously affects his feelings towards Robert, but also affects the opinions of the readers. Instead of allowing the readers to develop an opinion of their own, the narrator’s bias has created one. The narrator is very naive and clearly only possesses a limited amount of knowledge about the blind.
While examining Robert’s eyes the narrator describes them as “creepy” and mentions that “there was something different about them. Too much white in the iris, for one thing, and the pupils seemed to move around in the sockets without his knowing it or being able to stop it” (Carver, 5). Once again, the narrator’s stereotypical nature shines through, further characterizing him as ignorant and insensitive. Although, this is only the first encounter between Robert and the narrator, the narrator has created an unmistakable tension between them. This leads the readers to anticipate continuous hostility, and ongoing lack of sympathy as the story progresses.
In the “Cathedral” the narrator can be described as a dynamic protagonist. As readers we are aware that he does not undergo any beneficial growth, throughout the story. Although, this does not provide us with the comfort of knowing that he will not change for the worse; this increases throughout the story. His ch becomes more unsympathetic, jealous and envious. His preconceived notions and overcritical personality blinds his ability to have a change of