The Art of Perception: When Looking is Not Seeing. Raymond Carver's short story "Cathedral" is a reflection on the process of human perception that underscores its essence. By means of the careful selection of characters, symbols, and motives, the author sheds light on the goals of perception and considers it on the basis of understanding art, which provides the reader with an insight to the profound difference between looking and seeing, two successive stages that complement each other. In this vein, it is worth exploring the concept of perception, framed in the literary settings through the prism of the aptitude to shape the observed into valuable experience. The art of perception is thus a complex process not only of hearing, looking, and touching things, it is an ability to see the depth of the observed, understand it, analyze it, and form a critical behavioral response. Through the …show more content…
In this context, the narrator finds himself unable to tell the blind man what he sees on the picture, he cannot describe a cathedral properly. To show him how perception actually operates, the blind man suggests drawing it at the same time allowing his hands to feel the lines and get to know the unfamiliar object. Closing his eyes, the narrator finally becomes conscious of the fact that to transform perception into experience, he needs more efforts and attempts. As an object, representing art, cathedral becomes the landmark by means of which Carver persuades the reader in his finding. However, it is not the only representation of art. As the story unfolds, the reader may observe that the narrator's wife writes poetry that makes her feel the environment deeply. The narrator, though, is astonished to find out how the blind man manages to live without the ability to look at the surroundings and his wife in
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.
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.
Nesset, Kirk. "Insularity and Self-Enlargement in Raymond Carver's 'Cathedral.'" Essays in Literature. March 22, 1994: 116.
The narrator in Raymond Carver’s "Cathedral" is not a particularly sensitive man. I might describe him as self-centered, superficial, and egotistical. And while his actions certainly speak to these points, it is his misunderstanding of the people and the relationships presented to him in this story which show most clearly his tragic flaw: while Robert is physically blind, it is the narrator who cannot clearly see the world around him.
By becoming close with Robert, the man in this story experienced what was necessary to gain an understanding of what life is like for the blind. The man began to draw the cathedral to try and help Robert visualize what one looked like. What he didn't realize at the time was that Robert was helping him to visualize what blindness felt like. Bibliography: Carver, Raymond. "Cathedral".
“Cathedral,” a short story written by Raymond Carver, presents an intriguing story of an ignorant man 's lesson. During this story, Carver 's working class characters are crushed by broken marriages, financial issues, and fulfilling jobs, but they are frequently unable to understand or communicate their own sufferings. However, the main story consists of the narrator, known as “Bub,” facing an internal conflict about a blind man named Robert staying the night in his home. Regardless of the fact that this blind man is his wife 's long time friend, the narrator cannot find himself comfortable with such an idea because of his extreme prejudices. Although, despite the narrator’s conflict he finds himself connecting to Robert on a more personal
The narrator in Raymond Carver's "Cathedral" has two fully functional eyes, in which he chooses never to use to their full potential. The eyes of the narrator are biased, insecure, jealous, and very limited in what they choose to see. This inability to see is made apparent when he is forced to meet and converse with a blind man. The narrator's perception of the world around him, and blurred vision, is resolved by a great irony in the story when Roger helps the narrator see past his prejudice outlook on life. The blind man teaches the narrator how to see.
The short story of the “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver shows the narrator as the main character of the story whose name is never mentioned. The narrator’s wife’s name is never mentioned as well, and her friend who is a blind man is coming to visit after losing his wife whose name is Robert. In the beginning of the story, the narrator shows that he is an excessive drinker and feels emotionally disconnected from his wife and his wife is excited about her friends visit, Robert. This kind of emotion makes him uneasy but doesn’t know why and because he knows that Robert is blind, he feels like he is better than him. Imagine having to meet a long time old friend of your spouse of the opposite sex who they a special friendship with and whom you haven’t
The narrator, his wife, and the blind man spend the evening talking, but eventually the wife falls asleep. The narrator is uncomfortable about being left alone with a blind man. There is something about cathedrals on TV and the blind man asks the narrator to describe what a cathedral looks like. The narrator only describes physical things and so the blind man decides that they should try drawing one instead. As they draw the blind man and the narrator connect and a transformation in the narrator?s character takes place.
... man that was trying to have an affair with his wife. Carver uses this story “Cathedral” to open the readers eyes and send the profound message of intolerance and ignorance and how one can be blind mentally not physically. The narrator is so hostile to the idea of a visit from Robert because he is blinded by jealousy, anger, and confusion.
The husband in Raymond Carvers “Cathedral” wasn’t enthusiastic about his wife’s old friend, whom was a blind man coming over to spend the night with them. His wife had kept in touch with the blind man since she worked for him in Seattle years ago. He didn’t know the blind man; he only heard tapes and stories about him. The man being blind bothered him, “My idea of blindness came from the movies. In the movies, the blind moved slowly and never laughed. Sometimes they were led by seeing-eye dogs. A blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to. (Carver 137)” The husband doesn’t suspect his ideas of blind people to be anything else. The husband is already judging what the blind man will be like without even getting to actually know him. It seems he has judged too soon as his ideas of the blind man change and he gets a better understanding of not only the blind man, but his self as well.
“Cathedral” by Raymond Carver contains many examples of irony, juxtaposition, imagery, and epiphany. While maintaining a minimalist approach, Carver uses evocative diction to assist the reader in visualizing the story through the blind man’s perspective. Using the bare minimum of detail allows the reader to dig deeper and find the underlying meaning, including themes of alienation and loneliness ("Cathedral."). Ironically, the limited point of view of the story allows for various units of style and for the ability to create vivid imagery in the readers’ mind.
What makes a brotherhood, and how does the short story "Cathedral” relates to brotherhood? In the “Cathedral”, Robert and the Narrator connect over a drawing. The drawing help changes the outcome of the Narrator thoughts of blind people. "Cathedral" helps us understand brotherhood and how you don 't have to be blood-related to join a brotherhood. In the "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver, you can experience a newly form brotherhood by two completely opposite characters who are able to form an alliance. The Narrator lacks awareness of others, but with Robert’s help, the Narrator is able to finally see the world in from a different point of view, and this opens him up to create a bond with Robert. In "Cathedral", you see the unity between two men,
We see the narrator in the beginning as a bitter and jealous man, but as the story unfolds, he changes to become more empathetic and emotional. This change in the personality of the narrator correlates with Carver's use of diction and tone. From conversation to confession, "Cathedral" is a work of art in the first-person narrative. By revealing this character through word choice and tone, the narrator comes alive and the story has more significance.
Therefore, his portrayal of the Cathedral goes up against a more human component, which frees the narrator and enables him to really observe spontaneously. The narrator’s good intentions are thwarted when he realizes he is unable to describe a cathedral. Even though he can see the cathedral, he is unable to describe the cathedral to Robert because he can’t “see” its deeper