Analyze a character of your choosing from any of the short stories we Essay

Analyze a character of your choosing from any of the short stories we have read and explain how that character illustrates a theme. (I picked the narrator from the cathedral by Raymond carver) - Essay Example Despite the fact that his wife has remained a friend to the blind man, Robert, for the last ten years, they have not met since then, and the narrator does not like the fact that Robert is visiting his wife after he lost his wife. Therefore, he is uncomfortable receiving the blind man in his house, and thus goes on to say, â€Å"a blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to† (Carver, 209). The narrator does not seem to appreciate what the friendship means to his wife, and he does not care about what the friend ship means to the blind man, who has just lost his wife. Thus, the narrator comes out as a person who only cares about his own feelings, in total disregard of what the others feel. In a further show of meanness, the narrator does not appreciate the fact that it was Robert who had assisted his wife in a suicide attempt after she got divorced from her former husband (Halpert, 44). Instead, the narrator seems to be concerned with the fact that Robert is part of his wife’s past, and consequently he becomes jealous. The narrator comes out as a person who is completely insensitive to the plight of other people. In fact, he narrates that his perception of a blind man is that from the movies, where they are neither found to be happy nor to laugh, while their movement is slow. The narrator says â€Å"My idea of blindness came from the movies† (Carver, 209). This indicates that he has never been concerned about people who have such disabilities, and in fact, the only time he becomes aware of them is through the movies. Making such statements in relation to a blind person with disability is really a display of insensitivity (Amir, 38). Further, instead of appreciating that the blind man is a capable man who has been able to bring up and keep a family until he lost his wife, the narrator feels pity for the wife of the blind