This pictures doesn't really have anything to do with the story, but that's cool.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Cathedral (Once you read the ending, it actually makes sense)
While I was reading the story "Cathedral" I was slightly confused. The story really didn't seem to have a plot. It was just a work about a guy who wasn't real happy that his wife's blind friend would be visiting them for a few days. However, much like "So Much Water Close to Home" (excluding the strange trying a dead lady to a tree story line) the ending of the story really brought everything together for me. The scene in which the blind man and the husband are drawing the picture together, the husband with his eyes closed, shows a connection between them. For the first time ever, the husband was forced to deal with his fears and insecurities about the blind man. He is now able to empathize with him. "It was like nothing else in my life up to now... I had my eyes closed. I thought I'd keep them that way for a little longer. I thought it was something I ought to do. 'It's really something." I think this part of the story is extremely powerful because the husband and the blind man are having a shared experience, one that really seems to give the husband some real perspective on life.
This pictures doesn't really have anything to do with the story, but that's cool.
This pictures doesn't really have anything to do with the story, but that's cool.
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2 comments:
I read that one too. I agree with what you said about the end - it did show another side of the husband that I really liked to see. However, I have to say that this is my least favorite story so far. Like you said, I was searching for a plot while I was reading this story and, though the end was "nice," it wasn't really anything that I thought too much about after I read it.
As far as teaching it, I think it could be useful to use it in a lesson about not judging until you "look" at things from another perspective.
I want to like it, so maybe I'm completely missing something!
As I was reading the NCTE book I discovered that this story is based on an actual event from Carver's life. Also, there is a story written by Tess Gallagher about the same event from a different perspective entitled "Rain Flooding Your Campfire." I couldn't find the full text anywhere, but that would be a great way to teach about multiple perspectives of the same event.
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