The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but not seeing. Truly seeing something is not done with the gift of sight alone, but is done within your mental capacity as to how you see the world. You may have the gift of sight, but having sight is in the mind or the mind's eye. It is a dynamic part of our creative vision and helps us plan and think about 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 eventually forms this unusual bond with her husband. Robert was eventually able to help his husband gain a glimpse of true sight even though he does not suffer from blindness. This story is the true definition of what it truly means to see. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay "Cathedral" is a short story by the writer and poet Raymond Carver. The story is narrated by a man whose wife has invited an old friend of hers to come to their house for a visit. The old friend whose name is Robert appears to be blind, and this is how the narrator seems to define this man throughout the story. The narrator admits that he is unhappy with the blind man's visit although he doesn't seem to fully identify the reason, and from his actions it seems likely due to Robert's disability. Robert's wife recently died, so 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 work, Robert asked to touch her face and she agreed. As she did so, she felt a deep sense of closeness towards him and this inspired her to commemorate the experience through her poetry. It seems that this is where he becomes much closer to the blind and finds inspiration to write poetry. His wife picks Robert up from the bus depot and when she returns the narrator is surprised by how normal Robert looks. She expected Robert to be an old man with dark glasses and a cane. In the cathedral, when the wife has finished preparing dinner, everyone sits down to eat and the narrator watches Robert. The narrator says, “The blind man had immediately located his foods, he knew exactly where everything was on his plate.” “I watched in awe as he used a knife and fork on the meat.” He cut two pieces of meat, put it in his mouth with a fork, then took all the baked potatoes, then the beans, then tore off a piece of buttered bread and ate it. (Carver pg. 6) at this moment the narrator begins to admire Robert's dexterity and his ability to use tools. Towards the end the two men sit together watching a program about a cathedral and the Middle Ages. The narrator realizes that Robert probably has no idea what a cathedral actually looks like and attempts to describe it to him. She realizes that her description isn't good enough, but Robert is patient and encouraging. Robert then asks the narrator to find some paper and a 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 outline the outline of the structure. He is not a trained artist, but Robert nevertheless praises his work and suggests that it must be amazing for the narrator to have an experience like this. The narrator feels obligated to continue finishing the drawing, even if the television program ends. and his wife wakes up, curious about what's going on. Robert remains encouraging throughout the artistic process, suggesting that the narrator add people insideof the cathedral. He suggests that the narrator close his eyes and try drawing that way. Although he is hesitant, the narrator agrees. He finds that the experience is profound, profound, like nothing he had 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, "It's really extraordinary." The cathedral of history is a perfect example of what it means to truly see something. In this story blind Robert appears 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 a 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 and told how beautiful she was. He never let his blindness hinder his daily routine. Robert could travel, eat, love and do whatever he wanted. He had an extraordinary vision of how life is perceived and sees people from the inside, not how they appear. In “Cathedral” blindness has a double meaning. It 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 doesn't pay attention to his wife to make her feel loved, she writes poetry and her husband who is the narrator who doesn't seem to care even admits that he has never appreciated his wife's written work. he also doesn't seem to care too much about anything or anyone. His wife says he has no friends. In the beginning, when the wife was preparing food for her friend Robert, the narrator said, "Maybe I could take him bowling," I told my wife. He was at the drainer preparing the scalloped potatoes. He put down the knife he was using and turned around. “If you love me,” he said, “you can do this for me. If you don't love me, that's okay. But if you had a friend, any friend, and the friend came to visit you, I would make him feel at ease. He dried his hands on the towel. “I don't have any blind friends,” I said. “You have no friends,” he said. “He seems to be very hateful and his wife seems to be dealing with that. 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 how much it is arrogant towards his wife and other people like Robert. He also spends his time working and when he is at home he does nothing but watch TV while smoking marijuana. In the story the narrator even confesses that he often goes to bed later than his wife. sitting alone in the living room, high and having bad dreams. It's not a healthy relationship and it shows how he doesn't see what he has at home and doesn't care too much about his wife and what she does he can still actually use his sight. It shows how ignorant he is once the blind man arrives at his home. He walks blind towards his surroundings and what matters around him. Having vision means having survival instinct and the ability to see there ethics, morals, desires and imagination of an individual. Seeing is only the surface of our eyes' ability. Vision differs from sight and represents the totality of a person's mind. There is the will to see something or someone through to the end, due to a mental and emotional search for truth and total understanding. Part of being a visionary is seeing life all the way through. Vision allows an individual to have confidence, to be free from judgment and not bound by superficial perceptions. No external forces.