When I read something for the first time, I usually withhold judgement of the characters until the end of the story. I would say I’m okay with withholding judgement for the most part, because even when I don’t like certain characters, I generally don’t get really angry at them the way I would get angry at a real person, because it’s just fiction. The narrator of the Cathedral starts out the story insensitive of the blind man Robert, but he grows to be more open once the story goes on. This can also mirror how some readers may become more open to the narrator. In What You Pawn I Will Redeem the protagonist Jackson Jackson is extremely bad with money and can never keep enough money to buy back his grandmother’s regalia, but the story ends somewhat hopeful, as the pawnshop owner gives him the regalia in the end anyway. It can be easy to judge him for his bad monetary choices, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t empathize with him at the same time.