What is a Flat CharacterĪ flat character is a persona with an often predictable personality that shows little or no ambition and motivation. That’s why we’ve prepared this piece to help you understand what a flat character is and how to round them out. The key concept here is to know how to identify flat characters, and if their flatness contributes to the narrative that you are aiming for in your story. Sure, you might know flat characters to be often uninteresting and boring, but there are many flat characters in literature that are actually exciting and beloved! However, the truth of the matter is that having a flat character is not inherently bad. Just knowing that your character is a flat cardboard cut-out is a stake to the heart to a budding author. The important thing about Robert isn't that he's blind, but rather that he's a person who works with what he has to create the best life he can for himself.You might have heard that having a flat character is bad, and you might hear a disheartening comment from an editor or reviewer that you have a flat character. No more than all non-blind men are like the narrator. This isn't to say that all blind people are like this. Robert is unique in that he communicates creatively, and has a keen understanding of the world. That's more than either the narrator or his wife get in this story, though she gets a "pink robe and pink slippers" (2.6), "a juicy thigh" (2.23), and an interesting past. He even gets a beard, a hair style, and a "spiffy" outfit (1.30). Though it's easy to reverse the roles and see the narrator as Robert's guide, we think the narrator wants us to understand that Robert is someone special, that he is the star of "Cathedral." After all, he gets a name, a rough age ("late forties" ), several professions, and specific interests. Maybe for the first time since his wife died, Robert has been able to completely take his mind of off his loss. They are literally intoxicated, but are also in a creative and communicative zone. Surely he is still grieving, but he and the narrator have both forgotten themselves, in a sense. But, we do see movement in Robert as well. The story is from the narrator's point of view, so his change is more apparent. Robert also needs a guide or a friend, someone who cares enough to try to show him something he has no way of picturing – a cathedral. Standard analyses of Robert paint him as a wise, mystical figure who guides the narrator to a path of new awareness. We instantly feel his grief, though the narrator seems almost oblivious. The idea that Robert is heavily burdened is hard to avoid. The narrator's observation that Robert has "stooped shoulders, as if he carried a great weight there" (1.131) should probably deflate his fears. The image of this rakish blind man contrasts with ideas we might have about recent widowers. For all the narrator knows, Robert could be planning to try to seduce the narrator's wife. All the while corresponding regularly with the narrator's wife. And then, Robert married the next woman who worked for him. After all, Robert touched his wife's face when she worked for him. It's no wonder the narrator thinks of Robert as a possibly shady figure. Others might relate to the narrator's point of view, which looks something like this: throughout his marriage to the woman, Robert has been lurking in the background of his wife's life. Some readers might expect him to be a good guy, just because the narrator doesn't trust him. Initially, Robert is a mysterious figure to the narrator, and therefore the reader. This isn't necessarily apparent until the story is fully unraveled. Robert seems like a great guy, someone who it would be a pleasure to know.
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