This essay will be about “Cathedral”, a short story written by Raymond Carver. Cathedral is simply the tale of a man and his acceptance and understanding of a blind man. The man himself is a symbol of the main theme of the story, namely overcoming personal prejudices. Throughout the story the narrator shows that he has a predetermined mentality about what a blind person is, his difficulties and his lifestyle. The author shows that the narrator's stubbornness influences both his relationship with his wife and his personal evocation of emotions. In Raymond Carvers' “Cathedral” we see the struggles to overcome prejudice faced throughout the narrative, as depicted through motifs and symbols. From the beginning the narrator's preconceived notions about this man are very evident. His wife informed him that the blind man, his friend, would come to visit him after his wife's death. The narrator immediately detests this idea by claiming that the blind people “moved slowly” and “never laughed.” The narrator states that his preconceptions arise from the way blind individuals are depicted in Hollywood films. In this case we can see that the author is critical of the film industry. The way “Hollywood” describes a certain group of people has a direct effect on people's perception. These perceptions are made even more apparent when she actually meets the man. At first he is surprised that it is not a guide dog leading the man. He's even more surprised that she doesn't use a walking stick or wear sunglasses. The author shows how these perceptions are ignorant due to society's portrayal of blind citizens. The narrator continues the meeting by asking blunt and rude questions. He states his su......middle of paper......personal and compassionate relationship with the blind man. The author throughout the story never gives a name to the narrator or his wife. However the blind man is given the name Robert. This gives the blind man more of an identity than the narrator. He has a name, a story, and a compassion that the “narrator” simply didn't have. At the end of the story the narrator overcomes his prejudices towards people different from him and finds himself. “The Cathedral” faces many obstacles against prejudice. Over the course of the narrative we see the man's closed-mindedness change when he realizes that he was wrong to judge someone based on their disability. The narrator changes a number of things about himself over the course of this tale and learns not to judge a book by its cover, which means learning who someone really is before deciding whether or not you'll like them...