Sunday, October 4, 2015

"Cathedral" Response

Hi, this is Carson Patterson.
I found the choice of a not particularly likable or intelligent narrator in this story to be interesting. It limits the author's word choice (few figures of speech are used, almost no unusual words, and there is a large amount of repetition) and the subjects he can discuss. It's also a risky move in terms of keeping the reader engaged; it's hard to feel sympathy for a man who is so judgmental of a blind stranger and snarky to his wife, and hard to keep reading about a character you don't like. However, at the end of the story the decision pays off; having been in the main character's head the whole time, the reader understands the full significance of the transformation of his attitude. It also in some ways ways explains why the man feels the way he does about the blind man; rather than just seeing that he is suspicious and prejudiced against him, we see all of his reasons for mistrusting Robert and his rationale behind them, which, while flawed, to some extent makes sense.

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