In "Cathedral", the narrator treated Robert with hatred and contempt and was uncomfortable with their friendship with his wife. However, with time, those who treat them with contempt regret having done so after seeing how good they are in what they can do. It is common to find that people who can see despise the archetypical blind characters to the extent of underestimating their abilities. Notably, the moment Oedipus lost his eyesight, he also developed a unique ability to tell the future. Later in the play, the prophecy comes true, and all other characters confirm that Oedipus gets blind according to the words of Tiresias. For example, when Oedipus mocks Tiresias, he predicts to him that he would also lose his ability to see. As the author explains, the gods denied Tiresias the ability to perceive the external reality but enabled him to tell what would happen in the future. Like Robert in "Cathedral", he cannot see the physical things, but he can see things that other people cannot see. In "Oedipus the King", the blind character is Tiresias, who is a prophet. Although we do not get to know the kind of responses that the blind man gave her, the interest of the author is to show that the narrator's wife considered him to be more insightful than anybody else she knew, and that is why she confided in him. Robert was so patient that sometimes, the narrator's wife would just record tapes about her nasty past and sends them to him to listen and provide counsel. That is the reason the narrator's wife turns to Robert when each time she feels like talking about her experiences. For example in "Cathedral", Robert comes out as a better listener than the narrator and his wife, who though can see each other, are marred by unending arguments because of their judgmental listening styles. Therefore, they capture every detail of speech and that makes them far better listeners than those who have eyes. Unlike the characters, the blind character uses the ears to see things. Robert brings out one of the essences of blindness archetype as the ability to listen well and get issues. ![]() In "Cathedral", the blind character is Robert, who is portrayed as a very compassionate and insightful person. In the work we have done in class, the archetype of blindness is used in "Cathedral", a short story written by Raymond Carve Sophocles' drama, "Oedipus the King" and Robert Frost's poem, "Acquainted with the Night" The blind characters play crucial roles in literary works because most of the time, they convey the real meaning of the work. Authors also make the blind characters provide insight into characters with good sight to demonstrate that disability is not inability. The paradox of the symbol is that the actions and words of the blind characters shape the outcomes of other characters' lives. In many instances where this archetype is used, the authors insinuate that the blind, who do not have the physical superficial vision can see the less obvious things better than those with natural sight. Blindness is used in literature as a symbol of the limitation of the natural vision. Blindness is a universal symbol that authors of all types of literary works have used to communicate important messages to their audiences.
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