The short stories “Araby” and “Cathedral” showcase the developments of individuals in their understanding and acceptance of reality. “Araby”, written by James Joyce, talks about a young boy who has a crush on his friend’s older sister. The young boy promises to the girl that if he goes to “Araby”, a bazaar, he will get her a gift. When the boy arrives at the Bazaar, the fair is closing. The boy also realizes that he didn’t have the funds to buy her something nice anyway. Alone at the bazaar, the boy begins to feel shameful and angry as his idealized vision of the fair and his hopes of Mangan’s sister loving him, become tarnished. In “Cathedral”, written by Raymond Carver, the narrator is bothered by the visit of his wife’s old friend Robert. He does not know why he isn’t looking forward to meeting Robert but he knows that it has something to do with Robert being blind. At the end of the night, they watch a late night documentary on Cathedrals in which Robert asks the narrator to describe what a cathedral looks like. Since the narrator has trouble explaining it, Robert tells the narrator to draw it. While drawing the cathedral, Robert asks the narrator to close his eyes, putting him in the same perspective as him. In the short stories “Araby” and “Cathedral”, both the main characters are…show more content… Robert tells the narrator to close his eyes and continue to draw. As the narrator experiences Robert’s condition, he sees the world from a different point of view. By closing his eyes, the narrator is freed from his preconceived opinions concerning his wife's friend. The narrator’s hostility towards Robert vanishes and so does his sense of separation. The narrator feels that something new has awakened within him and that he will be able to abandon his xenophobic opinions concerning individuals with disabilities. The narrator is now truly able to see for the first