Lessons From Short Stories
Something of Value Can Be Learned From Reading Short Stories
There can be much learned from reading short stories. This will be demonstrated in this work, which review three short stories including Michael Winter's work entitled "Archibald the Arctic," John Cheever's work entitled "Reunion" and Raymond Carver's work entitled "Cathedral."
John Cheever: "Reunion"
The work of John Cheever entitled "Reunion" is a short story in which the main character Charlie thinks about what is his last meeting with his alcoholic father when he was a boy. Charlie had dreamed of a reconnection with his father since he had not seen the man in over three years however, Charlie soon realizes that due to his father's problems including alcohol abuse that this will not be the case. During the meeting with his father, his father ordered two 'Gibson Beefeater' drinks and apparently consumes both of them as his behavior and speech worsens during the meeting. What is learned from this short story is firstly, that family members are not someone that the individual chooses and this is evidenced in the statement of Charlie who says: "He was a stranger to me [...] but as soon as I saw him I felt that he was my father, my flesh and blood, my future and my doom" (183). Charlie goes on to state "…that was the last time I saw my father" (185)
The second thing learned from this short story is that intelligent people are sometimes the worst people to deal with and this is evidenced in the fact that Charlie's father has a secretary to which he speaks the languages of French, German and Italian" indicating that the father of Charlie, although being an alcoholic, is obviously a man of great intelligence and learning. The third lesson learned from reading this short story is the sorrows of the abuse of alcohol. Charlie's father is obviously a terrible alcoholic and is unable to interact with his son in a normal...
In fact, Charlie's father is unable to relate to anyone normally evidenced by his abuse of the waiters in the restaurants in which he and his son visit during the story all located at Grand Central Station.
II. John Carver: "Cathedral"
The work of John Carver entitled "Cathedral" centers around a blind man who was on his way to spend the night with the writer of the story after the man's wife had died. The writer of the story is not too happy about the blind man's visit and appears to have no patience or empathy toward the man who cannot see. The story goes on with the man arriving and they all eat a large dinner, settle down with drinks, and watch television.
When the story narrator's wife falls asleep the narrator attempts to describe a cathedral on television to the blind man. However, the blind man is unable to visualize a cathedral. The blind man suggests that the narrator draw a picture of the cathedral and the narrator does so with the blind man's hand on top of his following his drawing. Earlier in the story, it is related that the blind man had taken his hand following the traces of the face of the man's wife when she was in his employ earlier before she married the narrator.
The drawing of the cathedral once beginning goes on and the narrator is instructed by the blind man to close his eyes. Even when the blind man instructs the narrator to open, his eyes he keeps them closed. It is as though the narrator, who feels he cannot draw, becomes entranced in the visualization that drawing with closed eyes allows him. The narrator is at this point in the story no longer feeling alien hostility to the blind man and becomes aware of the insight that can be gained when one does not see the limitations of one's own ability. The irony in this story is that the narrator of the story is enabled by a blind man to see things in a new…
