The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision. Truly seeing something is not done alone with the gift of sight, it is done as part of your own mental capacity and how you see the world. You can have the gift of sight, but having vision depends on the mind or the eyes of the mind. It is a dynamic part of our creative vision and helps us plan and brainstorm our ideas. In the story Cathedral by Raymond Carver, there is a man named Robert who is blind and visits an old friend and during his stay at her house, the blind man ends up forming this unusual bond with her husband. Ultimately, Robert was able to help his husband gain a glimpse of true vision even though he does not suffer from blindness. This story is the true definition of what sight really is. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay “Cathedral” is a short story by the writer and poet Raymond Carver. The story is told by a man whose wife invited an old friend to come to their house for a visit. The old friend named Robert happens to be blind, which is how the narrator seems to define this man throughout the story. The narrator admits that he is not happy about the blind man's visit even though he does not seem to fully understand why, and from his actions it seems likely due to Robert's disability. Since Robert's wife had recently died, he remained in Connecticut to visit his wife's family, where the narrator and his wife live. The narrator's wife worked with Robert some time ago in Seattle. On the last day of her job, Robert asked to touch her face and she agreed. In doing so, she felt a deep sense of closeness to him and this inspired her to commemorate this experience through her poetry. This is apparently where she becomes much closer to the blind and gets inspired to write poetry. His wife leaves to pick Robert up from the bus depot and when she returns, the narrator is surprised by Robert's normal appearance. He expected Robert to be an old man with dark glasses and a cane. In the cathedral, when the woman has finished preparing dinner, they all sit down to eat and the narrator looks at Robert. The narrator says: “The blind man immediately located his food, he knew exactly where everything was on his plate. » “I watched in awe as he used his knife and fork on the meat.” He would cut two pieces of meat, put the meat in his mouth, then fully prepare for the potatoes au gratin, then the beans, then he would tear off a piece of buttered bread and eat it. (Carver Pg. 6) At this point, the narrator begins to admire Robert's dexterity and ability to use utensils. Towards the end, the two men sit together and watch a show about a cathedral and the Middle Ages. The narrator realizes that Robert probably has no idea what a cathedral actually looks like and he attempts to describe it to him. He realizes his description isn't good enough, but Robert is patient and encouraging. Robert then asks the narrator to find paper and pen and suggests that they draw a cathedral together. He closes his hand over the narrator's and tells him to go ahead and draw. Slowly, the narrator begins to sketch the outlines of the structure. He is not a talented artist, but Robert nevertheless praises his work and suggests that it must be surprising for the narrator to have such an experience. The narrator feels compelled to continue to complete the drawing, even at the end of the programtelevision. and his wife wakes up, curious to know what's going on. Robert remains encouraging through the artistic process, suggesting the narrator add figures inside the cathedral. He suggests the narrator close his eyes and try drawing that way. Despite his hesitations, the narrator acquiesces. He finds the experience profound, unlike anything he has ever encountered in his life up to that point. Robert suggests that the drawing is probably finished and asks the narrator what it looks like. Without opening his eyes, the narrator responds: “That’s really something.” » The story of the cathedral is a perfect example of what it means to truly see something. In this story, blind Robert seems to be a very intelligent man who clearly never let his blindness stop him from doing anything he wanted to do. For example, Robert was blind but worked as an amateur radio operator. He had a wife that he cared for and was able to show love and she was able to receive it and feel it without ever being seen or told how beautiful she was. He never let his blindness interfere with his daily activities. Robert was able to travel, eat, love, and do whatever he wanted. He had an amazing insight into how life is perceived and he sees people from the inside out and not from their appearance. In “Cathedral,” blindness has a double meaning. This represents both Robert's lack of sight and the narrator's more intangible failures of perception, his inability to understand the feelings of others and his inability to find meaning or joy in his life. The narrator has this arrogance about him that shows his inability to truly see. In the cathedral of the story, he does not pay attention to his wife to make her feel loved, she writes poetry and her husband who is the narrator who does not seem to be interested in it, he admits even never appreciating his wife's written work. he also doesn't seem to care too much about anyone or anything. His wife says he has no friends. Early on, when the woman was preparing food for her friend Robert to come over, the narrator said, "Maybe I could take him bowling," I told my wife. She was at the drainer preparing potato gratin. She put down the knife she was using and turned around. “If you love me,” she said, “you can do this for me.” If you don't like me, fine. But if you had a friend, any friend, and that friend came to visit you, I would make him feel comfortable. She wiped her hands with the cloth. “I don’t have any blind friends,” I said. “You have no friends,” she said. He seems to be very obnoxious and his wife seems to take care of him. There doesn't seem to be a clear connection between the two. He is blind to what he has and doesn't seem to see or care about his arrogance towards his wife and others like Robert. He also spends his time working and when he is at home, he only watches television while smoking marijuana. In the story, the narrator even admits that he often goes to bed later than his wife, sitting alone in the living room, high and having bad dreams. This is not a healthy relationship and shows how he doesn't see what he has at home and doesn't care too much about his wife and what she does. Although he is able to see, he still cannot use his eyesight. He shows how ignorant he is once the blind man arrives at his house. He walks around blind to his environment and what matters around him. Having vision means having survival instincts and the ability to see an individual's ethics, morals, desires, and imagination. Seeing is only the surface of our eye's capacity. Vision differs from sight and represents the whole of the mind.