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Literature
People can have new experiences that can make them have different perspectives in life. In some cases, this happens when they encounter individuals with a different point of view about life. Adopting an open mind is essential. This makes it possible for one to have different interpretations of events. People hold on to their pleasant memories, especially those concerning their childhood. Some events rarely happen. Therefore, when they do, one wants to make sure that they last for as long as possible. Raymond Carver tells the story of a man whose perspective changed after his encounter with a blind man. The narrator put aside his previous thoughts concerning the blind man after spending time with him. The speaker in Theodore Roethke’s poem spends time dancing with his father and he enjoys this moment. He wants to continue clinging on to him even as the waltz ends. People desire to hold on to the pleasant experiences and encounters they have had for as long as they can.
Raymond Carver’s story Cathedral is a story about a man who changes his perspective on life after meeting a blind man. Initially, the man has his own interpretations about what blind men can and cannot do. He seems to think that they are limited in most areas of their lives. Once he meets, Robert he learns that he was mistaken in his judgment. The narrator and Robert spend some time together during the night. In an attempt to explain to Robert what a cathedral looks like, the narrator realizes that he is the one who has been blind all along. He ends up seeing the world from a blind man’s point of view. He realizes that he has acquired a sense of freedom. He does not wish to open his eyes even after he finishes the drawing. He wants to experience it the same way that Robert does. He says that even though he is in his living room, he feels like he is not inside anything. He has removed all the boundaries he has created and he has realized a sense of freedom that he had never experienced before. His unwillingness to open his eyes shows he wants to continue clinging to Robert’s world.
My Papa’s Waltz is a poem by Theodore Roethke in which the speaker reminisces the times he spent dancing with his father when he was a young man. The speaker describes how his father would come home drunk after a long day of work and dance with him. They would dance clumsily around the house. The mother would disapprove as he watched the pair hit the kitchen walls, which caused the pans to slide to the floor. The speaker says, “We romped until the pans slid from the kitchen shelf.” It is clear that this happened at a time when the boy was very young. As they danced, the speaker could feel his ears scrap the father’s buckle. In many ways, the poem shows the love that the father has for his child. He still wants to spend time with him after he comes home from work and he waltzes him to bed. The speaker seems to be enjoying the time that the two of them spend together because he continues to cling to his father’s shirt until he takes him to sleep.
In both situations, the characters want to hold on to something. They do not want to let go of what they have experienced with the people in their lives. In Cathedral, the narrator wants to cling to the new world that he has discovered after Robert directs him on how to draw a cathedral. He gains a new experience and he says, “It was like nothing else in my life up to now.” He has never experienced what he had with Robert that night and he wanted it to continue. Although he can see clearly, he ends up seeing the completed drawing through the perspective of a blind man. When Robert asked him what he thought about the cathedral, he said, “it’s really something.” He said this even though he was not looking at the drawing, as he had not opened his eyes. Thus, he expressed his desire to remain in the present situation. It gave him a different feeling than he has ever had in his life.
The speaker in the poem has fond memories of his father. He hangs on to his father and he still wants to cling to him after the dance is over. He says, “But I hung on like death.” the speaker is not comfortable with his father’s drunken state. However, he is willing to endure it since he wants to spend time with him. The waltzing is not easy as the boy has to endure some pain when his father’s buckle his ear. He has to deal with his father’s rough hands and his missed steps. However, in the end, the speaker wants to continue dancing with his father. He continues to cling to his shirt even as his father takes him to bed. The speaker seems to cherish that time with his father. It is special for him because his father gives him all the attention and his mother cannot interfere. She does not object even though the boy should be sleeping and not dancing around the house.
The narrator in the story had initial ideas concerning blind people. However, his willingness to learn more and to adopt an open mind made him have an encounter that ended up changing the experience he had. He learnt how to see with his mind instead of depending on his sight, which had limited his vision for a long time. He had never experienced anything like that in his life and he wanted the experience to continue for longer. The speaker in the poem got a chance to dance with his father. He enjoyed the time that the two of them spent and he held on to him even as the dance ended. The pleasant incidences in life increases people’s desire to the extent that they do not want to let go