The Mental Impact of Physical Disabilities Not everyone is perfect and many people face life-changing disabilities that seriously limit their physical abilities. Disabilities have the power to change people's lives and those individuals can ultimately decide whether this is for better or worse. The fictional stories "Good Country People" by Flannery O'Connor and "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver draw parallels between the difficulties caused by physical disabilities and the ways in which these difficulties are applied to everyday life. Although disabilities generally create difficulties for individuals, they can often give them a better understanding of how the world around them works and affect their opinions about their overall outlook on life, which will ultimately create different outcomes in certain situations. . Both stories illustrate disabilities in many different ways. and show how these disabilities have negative physical effects on people. In "Cathedral", Robert is described as a blind man who cannot physically see the world around him. Robert is physically limited due to his blindness and requires assistance from people other than himself to complete minimal tasks such as dressing, reading, and writing. At the same time, Hulga from "Good Country People" has a wooden prosthetic leg that seriously affects her mobility. She obtained it after a tragic hunting accident, in which her father shot her by mistake when she was only ten years old (O'Connor 119). Not only does Hulga have a wooden leg, but she also has the misfortune of suffering from a serious heart condition. She is limited by this condition as it makes her very dependent on her mother, which does not allow her to travel far from home very...... middle of paper ...... ls through various disabilities physical and personal limitations. Disabilities are life-changing for those affected, but to what extent this is determined by the individual. The stories “Good Country People” and “Cathedral” describe these limitations and how they can have many different effects. Although disabilities often create many difficulties for individuals, they also create a creative insight into life that is very different from our own and create different outcomes in different situations. Works Cited Carver, Raymond. "Cathedral." Mercury Reader. Compiled by Marisa Carlson. Jancie Neuleib, Kathleen Shine Cain and Stephen Ruffus. Boston: Pearson, 2014. 100-114. Print.O'Connor, Flannery. “Good country people. » Mercury Reader. Compiled by MarisaCarlson. Ed. Jancie Neuleib, Kathleen Shine Cain and Stephen Ruffus. Boston: Pearson, 2014. 116-137. Print.