The Man Without A Face

“The Man Without a Face” document’s one special summer of a young Charles “Chuck” Nordstat.  Charles lives with this Mother and his two half-sisters. Each of them has a different father, and Charles memory of his father his very vague because he died early in Charles’ life. According to Charles’ mother, his father died in the military serving his country. However, this turns out to be false. Charles’s father actually was an alcoholic who eventually committed suicide. Charles learns this from his older half-sister, Linda, after he angers her. After learning of this news, Charles runs straight to his mentor Justin McLeod. Ever since Mr. McLeod arrived in Charles’ town, he has purposefully isolated himself. This leads many to conclude that he has something to hide, especially because he has a massive burn covering half of his face. Mr. McLeod has quite a reputation in the town and everybody makes sure to avoid him. Yet, Charles manages to find a friend and mentor in him. Throughout the movie, he learns to trust Mr. McLeod despite everyone’s negative opinions.

Charles’ initially approaches Mr. McLeod because he needs a tutor to help him study for a military academy entrance exam. From the beginning, it is easy to see that their relationship will require a lot of time and work. However, both are committed to the cause and are in it for the long run; this is one way that Nordstat comes to trust Mr. McLeod. Charles’ realizes that Mr. McLeod will not give up on Charles, as long as Charles’ is committed as well. McLeod is willing to sacrifice his time in order to help Charles, and that is pretty nifty. Mr. McLeod is also willing to sacrifice his life of isolation and open himself up to the outside world once again. He realizes the risks that come with this, especially for someone in his position. Yet, he still opts to work with Charles.

Charles and McLeod end up spending a lot of time together over the course of the summer. Through this time, they learn a lot about each other. This is a major way that Charles comes to trust Mr. McLeod. Every day, they each share a part of themselves with one another. This helps Charles to break down all his preconceived notions about Mr. McLeod. McLeod shares how he received his burns, how he makes his livings, and other various parts of his life. He learns that he really is not a “freak” like all the kids in town had said. But rather, he is a kind, effective teacher At one point in the movie, Charles’ shares information about Mr. McLeod that he regrets sharing later. He seems sure that Mr. McLeod will be upset with him, and cannot seem to get it off his mind. He eventually gains enough strength to fess up to Mr. McLeod. However, Mr. McLeod simply tells Charles that it is ok and forgives him on the spot. Charles is incredulous for a second, and then seems to realize that Mr. McLeod is just more than a mentor, but someone he can trust, someone who actually cares about him.

Even though Mr. McLeod is Charles’ friend, he is still his mentor and does want him to learn everything that he possibly can. This explains why he wants Charles to come to conclusion on his own and not take the easy way out or cheat. If Charles went along with everyone else’s rumors, he would have not been thinking for himself. Therefore, he would have been doing the exact opposite of what working with Mr. McLeod during the summer has taught him. By originally choosing to work with Mr. McLeod, Charles was thinking for himself. He was not letting others think for him and decide his life. This was something that Charles struggled with prior to working with Mr. McLeod. He went along with what he was told and what he saw others doing. Even when Mr. McLeod first starts working with Charles and asks him to write a paper, he goes and copies someone else’s work. This was after Charles refused to write the essay several times. Thinking for himself was just something Charles struggled with. However, the viewer watches him take baby steps throughout the movie, starting with him asking Mr. McLeod and ending with him concluding that Mr. McLeod did in fact not molest him. Allowing others to think for him, would just go back on everything he learned during the summer. Although Mr. McLeod taught Charles a number of things to help him pass the military exam, helping him to think for himself was amongst the more important.

Knowledge?

To know something is to understand it.  One can understand something or someone on different levels, and therefore there are different levels of knowledge. Furthermore there are different levels outside of knowledge outside of understanding as well. One could be aware of something or even familiar with something. Both of those also have their levels as well. It depends on how well one is familiar with something in order to constitute how well they know it. I think that being aware of something is the most basic form of knowledge. Then familiarity comes next. As one learns more about something or someone, he/she becomes more familiar with it. Eventually, he/she will come to an understanding with it. Once this happens, the person can fully know whatever it is.

Of course true understanding takes a long time, and most likely would actually never happen for most people.  This implies that human beings could never truly know anything.  This could also be true, as who knows that everything that we consider to be true is actually true? How do we actually know everything that we know, or rather what we think we know? Most of our knowledge comes from others and we pretty much just believe everything taught to us. At this point, I just like to stop and think, “Who cares? We know what we know.”  If everyone was lying to us along the way, then so be it.  

Cathedral

Cathedral by Raymond Carter tells the story of a blind man, Robert, visiting his friend and her husband. The husband is initially very apprehensive about the visit because he is not comfortable around blind people. Through his thoughts, it is clearly evident that he lacks a basic understanding of many people, even his own wife. Once the blind man arrives at the house, the man has a hard time relating with the blind man. However, after his wife falls asleep, the blind man and the husband begin to watch a TV special on Cathedrals.  The husband tries to explain what he sees on the television set, but is ultimately unable to do so. The two men then attempt to draw a cathedral on paper. Robert then tells the husband to close his eyes continue to draw. After this, the husband experiences a change in heart. He seems to be more open and understanding of Robert and others.

1.  The narrator was not looking forward to the visit of the blind man because “he was no one he knew. And his being blind bothered [him]” (Carver 1).  His feelings reveal that he is a very close minded person that does not seem to stretch his mind beyond his preconceived notions. Rather, he bases his opinions off things he sees on TV or movies.

2.  It is possible to read the experience the narrator’s wife had of Robert touching her face as an experience of being “seen” by him. Her writing of poetry relates to her desire because it has implications that she wants attention. She wants to be seen by others, and poetry is another way for people to express themselves, or be seen by others. Her attempted suicide also relates to her desire to be seen because it is a cry for attention.  Just like the poetry, it was just another way to get people to see her.

3.  I think it means to accept them and be generally nice to them.  Rather than treating them rudely, one should treat them just like he/she would treat his friend.

4.  I do think Robert saw Beluah.  To see someone does not mean just to see them physically. It means to understand a person on a deeper level and have a deeper connection with them.  The narrator seems more concerned with Beluah’s physical attributes, while Robert was more concerned with Beluah as a person.

5. The characters smoked pot because the narrator did not want to be left alone doing nothing with the man. He was trying to avoid awkward moments at all costs, so he wanted to keep busy. This shows that they have a desire to be comfortable around others.

6. Churches reveal a lot about what cultures think about God. For example, if a church has a lot of detail, it shows that people put a lot of time and effort in building God’s house.  At the same time, however, churches can often be excessive with their designs and it brings into question simplicity.

7. The narrator has a hard time describes a cathedral because he did not fully understand it. It goes back to how he never truly saw his wife and Robert. He only understood the physical aspects of the cathedral, not the actual meaning behind it.  At the end of the story, the narrator truly sees everything that he has missed in his life. He sees people and cathedrals for who and what they really were.