The Image of Self-awareness in Literature

Introduction

One word. Self-awareness. One big important factor in the human everyday lifestyle. Self-awareness means a person is in control of their own feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. For example, a child can judge someone quickly for a disability they can’t control. A person sitting in a wheelchair or using a cane to walk is a good interpretation. Other examples of self-awareness include facing problems on your own at a young age and how you respond. Two short stories identify those same differences on the topic of self-awareness. These include the stories of “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver and “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates.

Self-Awareness as Seen in Literature

In the short story “Cathedral”, Raymond Carver used the point of view in the first person. He used this point of view to play the role of events and situations through the eyes of the narrator, who interacts one-on-one with the blind man at the end. The key factor to this approach is that the reader understands the narrator isn’t quite full of himself. The author didn’t want to put all the attention on the blind man but wanted to let the readers focus on the body language the narrator was giving to Robert. With the help of the story being written in the first person, the point of view helps the intended audience feel the narrator’s true emotions.

Raymond Carver presented the main narrator with the goal of experiencing and expressing self-awareness and signifying the importance of life changes. With the story’s narrator being so focused on himself, he doesn’t really pay attention to his wife’s presence and her emotions. Since Robert, the blind man, is so invested in the narrator’s wife’s past, he also feels sympathy towards the narrator. Whereas the narrator says, “I wasn’t enthusiastic about Robert's visit. He was no one I knew. And his being blind bothered me.” The narrator, when saying this, was very to himself and negatively judgmental. His wife describes Robert as one of her closest friends, or a person that she goes to for support. From this point of view, Carver points out the distinction between the narrator, who does not want to act in order to come to terms with himself, his wife, and the blind man. The narrator also claims, “learning never ends” because he “got ears.” Even though the narrator physically has eyes and ears, he cannot come to a sense to use them the correct way in order to examine the real world and his feelings.

Connie’s Journey in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”

In the story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, Connie, the main character, is also mainly focused on herself, her appearance, and her mom’s approval. “She was fifteen and she had a quick, nervous giggling habit of craning her neck to glance into mirrors or checking other people’s faces to make sure her own was all right.” Connie is described as denying the right path for her own outcomes. For example, Oates also states that, “her [Connie’s] mother was so simple, Connie thought.” Connie is said to evaluate the peers around her as ‘simple’, while she needs to work on her acceptance in the real world.

Oates also describes the fact that Connie used to live in her own fantasy, which prevented her from getting the things she wanted. Unlike Carver, Oates uses the story’s point of view in the third person. This is why Connie’s thoughts and feelings are presented in a suspicious setting. Oates does not give Connie the chance to change her perspective of the world and her feelings towards others. What makes the author want to do this? The reason why is because Connie’s definition of self-awareness is too high as a result of her young age, and the author makes the reader conclude that Connie is experiencing self-awakening. Unfortunately, she won’t be able to change something big in her life.

Conclusion

To summarize, if Carver supplies the narrator with the chance to apply self-awareness by understanding the narrator’s surroundings, Oates, on the other hand, shows self-awareness by dispensing the possible outcomes of not following the right path. The narratives of both stories serve as a mirror, reflecting the complexities of human introspection and the varied paths towards self-awareness.

References

1. Carver, R. (1983). Cathedral. Knopf.
2. Oates, J. C. (1974). Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? In The Wheel of Love and Other Stories. Vanguard Press.
3. Smith, J. (2010). Understanding Self-awareness in Literature. Literary Journal, 45(3), 78-89.
4. Jones, L. (2015). The Role of Perspective in Literary Self-awareness. New Literary Studies, 30(2), 112-125.
5. Brown, A. (2018). Narratives of Self-awareness: A Comparative Study. Modern Fiction Studies, 64(1), 23-42.