Saboteur

April 22, 2007

Essay 2: The Blind Architect

The Cathedral, by Raymond Carver is a poignant story about a blind man who comes to visit a husband and his wife and how this visit forces the husband to confront his unfounded and stereotypical attitude towards blind people and to gain an understanding of and compassion for the visitor's blindness and to a greater extent, his own "blindness".

The prejudice and intolerance that people exude towards other people, things and attitudes that they do not understand or that make them uncomfortable often make for isolated and bitter individuals living in narrow and constricted worlds. Interestingly, when people make an effort to open their minds and hearts to that which they are unfamiliar with its leads them into a new realm of insight and understanding and essentially expands their world. Using conflict, irony and symbol throughout The Cathedral Carver is able to effectively