"Cathedral"
             While living for only fifty years, the American short-story writer, Raymond Carver (1938-1988) is well known for his short stories and poems. "Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?" (1976), "When We Talk About Love" (1981), "Cathedral" (1983), "Where I'm Calling From" (1988)-such are some of the titles of Raymond Carver.
             Twenty-two years after Carver's first short story-"The Furious Seasons" (1961)-was published, he received the Mildred and Harold Strauss Living Award which gave him $35,000 per year tax free; as a result of this reward, he was required to give up any employment other than writing. In the final year of his life, he was elected to the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters; in addition, an honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of Hartford was awarded to Carver. Carver's most notorious short story-"Cathedral"-earned him a Pulitzer Prize nomination in 1984 (American Poems).
             Penned in 1981, "Cathedral" is one of Raymond Carver's personal favorites (Grimal). Evident in this story is the prejudice of the narrator. He believes someone who is disparate from him is less of a person. Carver's conquering theme in "Cathedral" is the overcoming of prejudices.
             "Cathedral" is about a woman with a blind friend (Robert) who comes to visit her and her husband (or narrator). Although the narrator has the gift of sight, he appears to be the character who is "blind" in the commencement of this story. When conversing with or about Robert, the narrator does not see or understand that the blindness in no way affects him as a human being. Uncomfortable with every aspect of this "blind man," the narrator becomes self-conscious about what to say or how to act. With this in mind, the story plays out and we see a transformation take...