Dynamic Character in Cathedral

Dynamic Character in Cathedral

By closing your eyes, you open your mind. In other words, imagination of our mind makes us see something beyond what our two eyes can not see. In the story “Cathedral” written by Raymond Carver, the author uses characterization to develop the story. Because the narrator throughout the story changes psychologically, the author has characterized him as a dynamic character. The narrator changes from an offensive, jealous, to later open-minded person. The eyes of the narrator were useless until he opened his mind to draw the cathedral.

The narrator’s opinion of others, is filled with stereotypes, discrimination, and prejudice. He was a very offensive person towards him, and states, “I wasn’t enthusiastic about his visit. He was no one I knew. And his being blind bothered me. My idea of blindness came from the movies. In the movies, the blind moves slowly and never laughed” (Kelly 62). In other words, the narrator was not happy at all seeing a blind person coming in. He never wanted to stay with someone who can see nothing but darkness. He got his ideas from the movies he has been seeing, where blind people are just not as friendly and communicative as others. Besides that, in the story is stated, “ A blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to “ (Kelly 62). In other words, it shows that the narrator illustrates his close mindedness and unwillingness to experience something new. He makes it seem that he is not happy at all that the blind person is coming to his house. The narrator is also jealous of Robert’s relationship with his wife.

Besides being offensive, the narrator shows jealous signs while his wife is talking to Robert. As it is stated, “They talked of things that had happened to them-to them!- these past ten years. I waited in vain to hear my name on my wife’s sweet lips: ‘And then my dear husband came into my life’-something like that. But I heard nothing of the sort. More talk of Robert” (Kelly 68). In other words, the narrator started being jealous because his wife did not mention him in her conversation with Robert. It was very rude and inconsiderate because his wife was not even paying attention to him. She kept talking to Robert without thinking that even in those moments her husband wants her attention. There are several reasons that the narrator seems uncomfortable and jealous with the visit from his wife's friend, Robert. The narrator is not a social person. In fact, his wife tells him, "You don't have any friends" (Kelly 64). The narrator would in fact have a friend by the end of the evening, or at least the possible beginning of a friendship that he would