Topic > How people perceive sight

In the two essays “Cathedral” written by Raymond Carver and “Look at Your Fish” by Samuel H. Scudder, many topics relating to sight and the way people perceive their own are addressed view. Carver's essay is about a character named Robert who is blind. There is also a character (called husband) who can see, but cannot see the meaning behind what he sees. This means that if he sees a dog-shaped cloud, he will simply see a cloud. He sees things as they are, not what they represent. When the husband talks about the cathedrals he says, "They're just something to watch on TV late at night" (Carver). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In the essay written by Scudder there is a student who is the narrator who is told to examine a fish and understand all the details. The essays “Cathedral” by Carver and “Look at Your Fish” by Scudder show that some people neglect their sight. What I mean by neglecting sight is that in both essays the narrators are frustrated by it. In Carver's essay the narrator is frustrated by the arrival of the blind Robert. He has all these stereotypes in his head about them wearing dark glasses, having a guide dog, having trouble doing everyday things like cutting food and stuff. In his own words, the husband says “... But he didn't use a cane and he didn't wear dark glasses. I always thought that dark glasses were a must for the blind” (Carver). This shows that the husband has difficulty seeing the meaning behind things. She has trouble understanding that Robert is still able to function as a person and didn't give up just because he was blind. In Scudder's essay the narrator gets frustrated after a while looking at the fish. There are many quotes from him explaining how frustrated he gets watching this fish for a while, but one of the biggest is “I turned it over and over; looked at his face: horrible; from behind, below, above, from the side, with a three-quarter view – equally horrible” (Scudder). He also mentions how he counted the scales on the back of the fish and how he even put his finger into its throat to see how sharp its teeth were and found that it was complete nonsense. Finally the day ended and he had to go home and thought more about the fish and found the answer to what his professor asked him. Both of these essays show many themes related to sight and how people understand what they see. In Scudder's essay "Look at Your Fish" the narrator is in a class where his professor has told him to look at this fish and examine it for all the details. After a while he gets frustrated because he thinks he has seen everything. After sticking his finger down his throat (which is gross) he decides to try drawing the fish. The professor praised the narrator for this and said: “Exactly! A pencil is one of the best eyes. I am also happy to note that you keep your sample wet and your bottle corked” (Scudder). Carver displays a similar theme in his essay. At the end of the essay the husband begins to draw a cathedral with Robert. Robert asks him to keep his eyes closed and the husband says: “But my eyes were closed. I thought I'd keep them like that for a little while longer. I thought it was something I should do” (Carver). The husband has realized how Robert "sees" the world. These essays show how people can neglect their eyesight and take it for granted. Both narrators of this story are frustrated by the sight in one way or another. Eventually, in the end, they realize how important it is. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay In Carver's essay "Cathedral", the husband understands.