Cathedral Analysis

691 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Raymond carvers cathedral literary elements

Analyzing Raymond Carver’s short story, “Cathedral,” his writing is considered to be minimalistic, and the story contains themes of prejudice and religion. Since Hemingway was an influence on Carver, minimalism has shown up in his work as well. As for the themes, Carver uses his characters to come to overcome a prejudice of blindness and end with an epiphany through religion while drawing a cathedral hand over hand. By analyzing Carver’s short story, I will be able to discover how “Cathedral” was developed.
Carver’s writing in “Cathedral” is minimalistic because the story was written in few words, and the narrator was very direct with his emotions. As Clark points out, “Carver’s tendency to place narrow epistemic parameters upon his characters is a technique he likely learns from Chekhov and Hemingway, both of whom he openly acknowledges as influences.” Minimalist writers such as Carver, Hemingway, and other American writers, all seem to create characters that ““…express themselves mainly through obscure gesture and berserk display (Broyard)” (Howe).” When the narrator is explaining the situation going on with the blind man and his wife, he uses multiple short sentences to describe the tapes being sent back and forth. For example, “She wanted to talk. They talked. He asked her to send him a tape and tell him about her life. She did this. She sent the tape (Carver).” The way that Carver has the narrator tell the story shows that the narrator is unhappy and not enthusiastic about his wife’s relationship with the blind man. The short sentences make it easy for the reader to assume and understand the narrator’s emotions. Though the narrator is jealous of the blind man’s relationship with his wife, he also reveals his prejudice toward...

... middle of paper ...

...to the point sentences, it was easier to see how the narrator was feeling and how he was affected by religion when drawing a cathedral.

Works Cited
Carver, Raymond. "Cathedral." 40 Short Stories: A Portable Anthology. By Beverly Lawn. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2001. 355-68. Print.
Clark, Robert C. "Keeping the Reader in the House: American Minimalism, Literary Impressionism, and Raymond Carver's "Cathedral"" Ebscohost. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2014.
Howe, Irving. "Stories of Our Loneliness." The New York Times On The Web. The New York Times Company, 11 Sept. 1983. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.
Jones, Jeff. "Religious Revelation In Carver’s "Cathedral"" N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. .
"Raymond Carver." Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2014.

Show More
Related

  • Summary of Raymond Carver's Cathedral

    486 Words  | 1 Pages

    In Raymond Carver’s story, “Cathedral,” the story tells of how a close outside relationship can threaten a marriage by provoking insecurities, aggravating communication barriers, and creating feelings of invasion of privacy. The husband in the story is given the gift of seeing the cathedral through a blind man’s eyes. Although the title suggests that the story is about a cathedral, it is really about two men who come together and share a vision and realize it is he who is blind.

    Read More

  • Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Birth-Mark, Raymond Carver’s Cathedral, and Randall Kenan’s The Foundations of the Earth

    1364 Words  | 3 Pages

    Carver, Raymond. “Cathedral.” Reading Literature and Writing Argument. Ed. Missy James and Alan Merickel. Fourth ed. Boston: Longman, 2011. 513-23. Print.

    Read More

  • Threatening Relationships in Carver’s Cathedral

    1231 Words  | 3 Pages

    Carver, Raymond. "Cathedral." The Harper Anthology of Fiction. Ed. Sylvan Barnet. New York: HarperCollins, 1991. 1052-1062.

    Read More

  • The Role Of The Narrator In Raymond Carver's Cathedral

    570 Words  | 2 Pages

    The short story, “Cathedral,” by Raymond Carver, is about a blind man who changes the way the narrator views life by giving him some insight on how he sees things. The characters in this short story are constantly developing into better versions of themselves by sharing their insights with one another.

    Read More

  • Literary Devices in Carver's Cathedral

    1505 Words  | 4 Pages

    Upon reading Raymond Carver's short story of the Cathedral one will notice the literary devices used in the short story. When analyzing the story completely, one then understands the themes, motifs, metaphors, and the overall point of the piece. This leaves the reader with an appreciation of the story and a feeling of complete satisfaction.

    Read More

  • Blind Faith in Raymond Carver's Cathedral

    914 Words  | 2 Pages

    Carver, Raymond. "Cathedral." The Harper Anthology of Fiction. Ed. Sylvan Barnet. New York: HarperCollins, 1991. 1052-1062.

    Read More

  • An Analysis Of The Cathedral By Raymond Carver

    1089 Words  | 3 Pages

    The narrator explains how it is hard for him to describe more of them, because he isn’t religious, so how can someone describe something with embellishment if you don’t believe in it? Robert then asked the narrator if he would like to draw one together. The narrator agrees, when he brings the paper bag to draw on, he describes how Robert is touching the paper, the edges, and the corners. When they both begin to draw, Robert places his hand over the narrator’s and follows, the narrator is in disbelief on what is happening because he never thought anything like this was ever going to happen to him. Robert comes off as a very encouraging man who unconsciously is helping Robert believe in himself by trying something that he’s never been used to doing. The positivity, patience, and great words Robert used towards the narrators’ effort in drawing the cathedral made him want to keep going and he didn’t know exactly why, all he knew was that he couldn’t stop. After a while the narrator closed his eyes and continued to draw, then he opened his eyes to tell Robert how the drawing came out. Surprisingly, the narrator kept his eyes closed and he mentions that although he knew he was home he felt like he was in anything. While remaining with his eyes closed and answering Robert on how the drawing looked like, he then said “It’s really something.” (Carver, 1983). I

    Read More

  • Essay On St Helena Cathedral

    601 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of the most eye-catching architectural feats in the town of Helena, Montana is St. Helena’s Cathedral. A cathedral is a church where people gather to pray and worship under the leadership of a bishop(“Montanakids”). The word cathedral in actuality means chair. So a cathedral is simply the church where a bishop presides because it holds within it the bishops special

    Read More

  • Sight in Cathedral

    1493 Words  | 3 Pages

    Caldwell, Tracey. "Raymond Carver's 'Cathedral'." Literary Contents in Short Stories (2006): 1-8. Literary Reference Center. Web. 5 Nov. 2010

    Read More

  • Seeing Things from a Different Perspective in Raymond Carver's Story, Cathedral

    668 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Raymond Carver’s story “Cathedral” the narrator learns what it means to “see” through someone who cannot. To see is to be able to view the things around us while putting aside preconceived notions or fear about these objects or people. In order for this to occur once must overcome what they feel is out of the ordinary and learn to accept things as they are. At first the narrator is doesn’t accept the man and uncomfortable around Robert. The narrator soon comes to understand this when he puts aside his fears, and judgments that he can see more than what meets the eye, and the freedom that comes along with this seeing.

    Read More

  • Redemption Theme in Cathedral by Raymond Carter

    1957 Words  | 4 Pages

    “Cathedral” consists of three individuals. The narrator is the main character, which the story revolves around. The wife of the narrator is the second character, who is the least relevant. The third character is the blind man, named Robert, who is a friend of the wife.

    Read More

  • Summary Of What We Talk About When We Talk About Love And Cathedral By Raymond Carver

    834 Words  | 2 Pages

    Raymond Carver uses strategic dialogue and point of view to articulate themes in his short stories. Another tactic Carver uses in his writing is analyzing basic human skills such as the ability to define love through intimate relations between characters that reveal deeper meaning. In the short stories “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” and “Cathedral,” he investigates relationships and how the characters develop the true meaning of love. While reading these two short stories the reader is able to comprehend the similarities that draw Carver’s works together. Through these stories the reader is also able to understand his outlook on love and human kinship. Carver uses certain strategies and techniques that allow him to bring a parallel between his different stories, but there are also definite things that set each story apart.

    Read More

  • Blindness in Cathedral by Raymond Carver

    596 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the story "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver, it tells of how a blind man is open to new experiences and how he views the world compared to the husband (narrator) who is blinded by the material things of life. The husband is given the gift of sight but the true gift comes from seeing the cathedral. At the beginning of the story, the husband’s outlook on others is filled with stereotypes, discrimination, insecurities and prejudice. After interacting with Robert, his wife's friend, his outlook begins to change significantly.

    Read More

  • Analysis of the Relationship of the Blind Man and the Husband

    941 Words  | 2 Pages

    Raymond Carver's "Cathedral" depicted the interaction between a narrow minded husband, with a limited understanding of the world around him, and a blind visitor, named Robert, that proved to be the catalyst that dramatically changed the husband's view on the world, while they went from being strangers to becoming friends. In the beginning of the story, the husband disliked the concept of his wife bringing her blind friend over to stay since he never had met a blind person before and did not understand it. However, as the story progresses, the husband, through interaction and observation, begins to dispel his fears and misconceptions of Robert and his blindness. With the help of Robert, the husband gains a revelation that changed his view and opened his eyes to the world.

    Read More

  • Cathedral In The Middle Ages Essay

    589 Words  | 2 Pages

    First of all, it was an incredibly impressive video and topic for me. In the medieval times, colossal cathedrals were built to represent of faith and a display of originality within the middle ages society in Europe. Cathedrals in the middle ages were typically big churches and were considered the center church of the patriarch’s throne. Though cathedral building was driven by religious figures or establishments, it was often a community effort. From the mid-twelfth century, the church started allow tolerances to those who would help to build a church or cathedral, and therefore, rather than going on crusades, which had been a general means of clearing sins in the late eleventh century,

    Read More

More about Cathedral Analysis

Open Document