Chapter 2: Acts of Communion

Lit/Prof

"Cathedral" --Raymond Carver

In this chapter of the book Foster talks about communion as something more than asking for forgiveness in religion. Foster says that authors use communion to represent food shared by a group of people in order to establish some significance of the meal. In the "Cathedral" a man tells about his experience with his wife's long time friend who happens to be a blind man. Like many other people who are not accustomed to different individuals he frowned upon the idea of a blind man spending time in his own home. Not only did he feel this would be uncomfortable because he had never met a blind man but some jealousy was present because his wife had worked for the blind man and after he had touched her face she wrote a poem about it.

His opinions of the man first start to change when he offers him a drink. The blind man says he wants scotch with a little bit of water and the man feels a sense of connection with him by saying "I knew it." This helped him realize that although this man lives a vastly different life from his both can still enjoy the same drink in the same way. Foster explains this in his book when referring to this short story saying that Carver does this to allow the narrator to get over his serious hang-ups with people that are different.

Then when the couple and the blind man sit down to enjoy their meal there is a change in tone. The narrator no longer talks about the blind man and him separately, instead, he uses the word WE when referring to how they were eating. This is his way of realizing another connection that the blind man and he share, food and hunger. This change in emotion shows a new respect for the blind man and the line that follows also has high significance. "We never looked back" this short little portion taken out of this story shows the changes made during and after the sharing of the meal, the narrator no longer frowns upon the blind man's presence, instead he considers him a welcome guest in his house.

As the night continues the narrator tries to make to blind man as comfortable as possible and shows his change in character when he offers him a smoke. Then, when they are watching the television show about cathedrals he does everything he can to be considerate of the fact that the blind man has no idea what one looks like. He even goes as far as drawing a cathedral with him. At the end when the blind man tells the narrator to close his eyes and finish the drawing I feel that this is symbolic of the narrator trying to be in the blind man's shoes. Not only has he accepted his way of life but he feels passionate enough to try to comprehend what the poor man has to deal with.

In the end this short story is a prime example about how communion is more than a religious encounter. It can be about people with familiar or in this case different beliefs joining for a common cause. In this story the narrator realizes (through food and beverages) that he and the blind man share more than what is first perceived and is willing to look past his own ways of life to see things in a different light.