One Man's Awakening

One Man’s Awakening

           The main character in the story "Catherdral" is humorous and likable, and even though he is prejudice against the blind man, it is his immature mind and his ability to change that attract us to him. The main character seems annoyed and possibly threatened that a blind man is coming to stay in his house. Our main character, who also acts as the narrator, is hilarious as his mental process is out of the ordinary. When his door knocks he thinks, “now the blind man is coming to sleep in my house.” It is these simple and childish sounding thoughts that make the main character seem extremely youthful, and as he spends more time with the blind man his attitude starts to change, similar to a child being forced to try a new food they view as disgusting, once they try it they realize they like it.

The narrator’s wife pleads with him to help make the blind man feel at home, and it is comments the narrator makes such as, “maybe I could take him bowling,” that make us laugh, and realize even though he is judgmental, he is quite harmless. One of the first things he asks the blind man is what side of the train he sat on, which is amusing because he was not able to think through the fact that the blind man can not appreciate the scenery outside the train. He is also shocked that a blind man enjoys smoking, and sports a beard. As they “do some serious eating” the narrator starts to become more comfortable with the blind man as he starts making jokes, and then proceeds to invite him to smoke. The blind man shows he is open to new things as the two men sit down to smoke marijuana. The narrator is not used to having company, and therefore he often feels awkward around the blind man for he must reach out and interact with him in order to help him feel more situated and to help understand what is going on. For example, he must explain the images on the television to him. This pushes the narrator’s limit but also helps him break down a wall he has against this new stranger as he must befriend him.

The narrator realizes his descriptions of cathedrals on the television are fruitless and that the blind man cannot create an image of the cathedrals in his head. The main character now proves his ability to try something new as he has a type of renaissance and goes to get heavy paper and a pen. He then sketches out a picture of the cathedral and not only does the blind man see the cathedral, but so does out narrator. When the blind man asks him if he’s looking at the cathedral he says, “It’s really something,” these are three extremely powerful words. For it is not that the picture of the cathedral that is something but it is the fact that with his eyes closed the narrator has put himself in the blind man’s shoes and he can finally see.

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Hope Vs. Despair

Sarah Bauer

AP English-1

Hope vs. Despair

            There are two sets of contrasting themes in “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place,” the first being a lack of understanding in which members of a younger generation may display toward members of an older one, and the next being the difference between the lonely darkness and hope filled light. The story consists of two waiters, one is young and has both confidence and a wife waiting in bed for him, while the other is older, claims not to have confidence, and views the café as a safe haven for certain visitors. The waiters would gladly spend the early hours of the morning partaking in different activities, making this is a story of contrast and human emotion.

            The dialogue between the two waiters and between the younger waiter and the old man in the café shapes the characters. The younger waiter is impatient, and shows no sympathy for the old and deaf man in the café. He makes harsh comments such as, “I’m sleepy now. I never get into bed before three o’clock. He should have killed himself last week,” in reference to the old man’s futile attempt to commit suicide. It clearly agitates the younger waiter that this old man, though he “is clean…drinks without spilling. Even now, drunk,” enjoys staying in the café till 3 a.m. Though the old man is in fact very pleasant, as he is both neat and polite. The waiter on the other hand exemplifies rude behavior and he takes advantage of the fact the old man cannot hear, as he informs him he should of committed suicide, and as he makes comments such as “I wouldn’t want to be that old. An old man is a nasty thing.” The old man shows more respect for the waiter than the waiter does to him, a paying customer. Yet since this customer is both deaf and old, it is acceptable to disregard the old man, and treat him as if he has no feelings and is simply a “dumb drunk.” The younger waiter states the old man “has no regard for those who must work,” but it is the waiter who has no regard for those who have lost their wives, who are old and lonely, and who simply need a clean and well-lighted place to pass the hours. On the other hand, the older waiter believes that some people need the café to pass time, such as the old man, yet the younger waiter wins and the old man is “kicked out” as the café closes.

            The main reason the café closes is because it is almost three in the morning, and the younger waiter wants to get back to his wife. Yet, to the older waiter and the old man, it is still a decent hour to be out, especially when there is no alternative. The older-waiter even asks, “Why didn’t you let him stay and drink?...It is not half past two,” showing his compassion and understanding for the old man. Loneliness and despair are the forces that keep both the old man and the older waiter up at night. The old man has no wife, unlike the younger waiter, and therefore he has no one to return to. All he has is an empty bed. In fact he feels “empty,” and the fact that he tried to commit suicide shows he has lost his hope in life. The older waiter also claims at the end of the story to suffer from insomnia, as he cannot fall asleep till the sun rises. Yet, it is the hollowness and fear of the hopeless dark that keeps him up at night, and a good light, such as the electrical light in the café, provides comfort and acts as a symbol of hope to these lonely souls. The older waiter recites the Lords Prayer as the café closes and he replaces many of the words in the prayer with the word nada, showing that he has nothing, and feels hopeless under the grace of God.

            The older waiter goes to a bar after the café closes, yet he does not get the same satisfaction from the bar’s atmosphere as he did in the café, even though the bar’s light is pleasant. The barmen thinks the older-waiter to be “otro loco mas” which is similar to the feelings of annoyance the younger waiter felt towards the old man. The night therefore consumes all the characters with feelings of loneliness, and restlessness, and whereas the younger waiter yearns to be home with his wife, the older characters yearn for light in their dark desperate worlds. 

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Family Dynamic In Everyday Use

Mama, Dee, and Maggie, are a complicated, close, yet distant family. Walker first introduces us to Mama, who explains a dream where Dee pins an orchard onto her dress, even though Dee thinks orchards are tacky. Then Maggie, a girl who walks like a lame animal, enters the story. I automatically think this family has a lot of  complicated emotions. Mama and her two children clearly have a past together, and we learn as their home burned down Mama dragged Maggie out of the fire and Dee simply watched, possibly very contently. It is their past and their different personalities that distinguish these characters from one another, yet they are still family. 

Mama clearly has a sense of respect for Dee, as she describes Dee as being more physically attractive and more confident than her younger sister. However, the respect is not mutual. We are first introduced to Dee's personality as Mama explains how Dee would read to them, and as they were about to understand what she was reading, she would shove them away. Though Dee wants them to become more "sophisticated" like herself, she purposefully leaves them in the dust. With the churches help mama raised money for Dee to go off to school, and Dee uses this education to hold herself above her family. Dee's mother did the best she could so Dee could have what she never came close to having, a good education. Dee clearly does not show her appreciation, even though she was the only sibling who was given this gift. Maggie shows signs of intimidation, and dislike toward her older sister as she tries to run away as her sister arrives. The description Walker uses to describe Maggie, and how she cowers behind her mothers chair, makes Maggie seem somewhat pathetic. The fire may have created the tension and dislike present in the family. What kind of child could calmly watch her sister being dragged out of a fire, as the place where she spent her childhood crumbles to the ground? In class we also discussed the possibility that Dee herself started the fire; this would be pure evil, and show she has no regard whatsoever for her family. Dee looks down on Maggie, as she explains she is to dumb to know what to know with her mother's quilts. This is where the book turns, and Mama rips the quilts from Dee's hands as they are were already promised to Maggie. This is significant because in the beginning of the story we learn of Mama's respect for Dee, and her go-getter attitude, yet here she dismisses her for Maggie, the cowardly daughter. Maggie is in shock as her mama hugs her and gives her the blankets; this action of putting Maggie in front of Dee is clearly a first. Maggie then gives what I picture to be a confident and in your face type of smile as Dee leaves. 

Therefore  Mama learns to appreciate Maggie, and to see Dee for whom she really is-an arrogant and unappreciative girl. In class we discussed the possibility that Dee could have good intentions, and she is just trying to appreciate her family's culture in an immature way. I disagree with this, and I see all her intentions as ones that would only benefit herself. Dee would do anything to boost her ego, and gain what she wants in life, even if she had to burn her childhood home, and permanently scar her family. 

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