DEVOTION TO TRADITION 2
Comparison between Robert of Cathedral and Thomas Builds a Fire from This is What it means
to say Phoenix, Arizona.
Robert is a blind character from the 1983 American short story Cathedral written by poet
Raymond Carver. In this date of his visit, the narrator’s wife leaves him with her husband who
tries to explain what he sees on the TV screen, but he cannot describe a cathedral, which is what
he sees. Robert directs the narrator to get a pen and he guides the narrator’s hand as he draws the
cathedral (Jackson, n.d).
In Thomas Builds a Fire character from What it means to say Phoenix, Arizona, two
brothers go about living with the struggles of losing a father. Victor is a warrior but Thomas, just
a story teller who is albeit ignored. Both Thomas and Robert were unique persons, both in such a
manner as made people avoid them. Robert was blind, thus a liability to those who had to guide
him (Faulkner, n.d). Similarly, Thomas was a desperate story teller who people avoided due to
the endless boring talk. Another similarity is the disadvantaged nature of both characters.
Thomas was an orphan dealing with loss of a father, while Robert was blind dealing with a
sightless life. It is notable that, the persistence in each character is also a notable similarity
(Faulkner, n.d).
In The Lottery, the town’s devotion to tradition is exhibited in the way in which everyone
abandons other duties to attend the lottery, regardless of age (Jackson, n.d). In A Rose for Emily,
a young lady refuses to abandon the pride associated with her family history, living and dying in
poverty and isolation as a result. In both towns, people cling to traditions regardless of changing
effectiveness of such traditions (Jackson, n.d).
