cathedral

773 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Use of Symbolism

“Cathedral” a short story by Raymond Carver shows how a visit from a blind man affects the lives of a married couple. The three main characters are the husband who is the narrator, the wife, and Robert. The husband is a close minded and cynical man who is upset because Robert is staying in his house because he does not know how to treat a blind man. The wife is a kind woman who has a closer relationship with Roberts than with her husband. Robert is a blind man who just lost her wife and is staying with his friend and her husband. In “Cathedral,” Raymond Carver uses symbolism to show the weakness and strengths of humans.
One of the symbols that the author uses in “Cathedral” is drinking which shows how humans use drinking as a form of escaping of their problems, but at the same time drinking helps the narrator to have a more open mind. In the story drinking is present many times, when the wife tried to kill herself, when the husband is waiting for her wife and the blind man, when the husband meets Robert, and when the husband, the wife and Robert eat and when they watch television. According to Caldwell Tracy “The narrator's disaffected state of being seems exacerbated by his turn to alcohol and drugs, which he uses both to provide a comfort level during Robert's visit and as a strategy to deal with his frequent nightmares.” Drinking in the story can be seen as a way of escaping reality because one knows that the husband is lonely an alcohol is a way of forgetting that. “I did the drinks, three big glasses of Scotch with a splash of water in each. Then we made ourselves comfortable and talked about Robert’s travels” (436), this quote shows how drinking in the story was the form in which the husband and Robert star socializing and ...

... middle of paper ...

...at uses symbolism to show how a person weakness can become strength. The symbols being drinking which represent a form of escaping and letting ones guard down, the blindness of Robert which represents that a weakness can become an strength, and the drawing of a cathedral which represent the faith and freedom that the narrator acquires at the end of the story.

Works Cited
Caldwell, Tracy M."Cathedral." Literary Contexts In Short Stories: Raymond Carver's 'Cathedral' (2006): 1-8. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 3 Mar. 2014.
Carver, Raymond. “Cathedral.” Kirszner and Mandell 432-442.
Delaney, Bill. "Cathedral." Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition (2004): 1-2. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 3 Mar. 2014.
Kirszner, Laurie G.,and Stephen R. Mandell., eds. Literature: Reading, Reacting,Writing. 8th ed. Boston: Wadsworth Cengage, 2013. Print.

Show More
Related

  • 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

  • Cathedral

    696 Words  | 2 Pages

    The story is about a blind man who visits a married couple. He is an old friend of the wife, but the husband does not look forward to see the blind man (called Robert) because he does not know what to expect. He has never known any blind persons and his picture of these is based on a very little foundation. He has a lot of prejudices against Robert, but during his visit he changes his opinion about him. While watching TV together they get each other to know better and the husband finds out that he actually likes his company. They watch a program about cathedrals and while talking about cathedrals, Robert says that he does not even know how a cathedral looks like. The husband tries to explain what a cathedral is and how it is built, but Robert does not understand it. Therefore he suggests that they can draw one together. In that way Robert gets a picture of a cathedral in his mind and even though it is not as good as seeing it with his own eyes, it is good enough to give him an idea of what a cathedral is.

    Read More

  • Bub Symbolism In Cathedral

    785 Words  | 2 Pages

    Raymond Carvers Cathedral presents an isolated narrow minded individual who narrates his experience with his wife’s old friend and the realization that occurs during the encounter with the blind man named Robert. Bub is emotionally isolated but enlightened by Roberts wisdom and comes to find spiritual freedom. Carver suggests that spiritual and emotional connection to life is directly correlated with the way life is perceived.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Cathedral By Raymond Carver Cathedral

    1672 Words  | 4 Pages

    “The narrative device enhances verisimilitude, characterizes and creates sympathy for the narrator…” (Delaney, par.12). This first person style helps to include the readers into the story, itself, as they are more able to understand and connect with the narrator and other characters in the story. By using this type of narrative, readers are more able to see the narrator’s point of view, and a side of the story that would not have been available otherwise. “Cathedral” is an effective short story because the central determiners trap the reader within a closed-off, narrow-minded man as he undergoes a spiritual awakening” (Peterson, pg.168). The reader is not only allowed to go through the same learning process as the narrator, but the readers also get to understand how the narrator grew as a

    Read More

  • Symbolism In Raymond Carver's Cathedral

    548 Words  | 2 Pages

    In some stories, symbolism can play a significant role in coming to understand the overall moral of the story. One of the best examples of this is found in Raymond Carver's “Cathedral”. This story centers around the theme of the differences between physically looking at something, and truly seeing it. In the final section of the story Carver gives his readers a wonderful example of symbolism as the readers discover along with the narrator, that seeing something through understanding can be much more powerful than the physical sense of the word.

    Read More

  • Turn A Blind Eye In Raymond Carver's Cathedral

    292 Words  | 1 Pages

    In Raymond Carver’s short story, “Cathedral”, the narrator’s ignorance and apathetic perspective of blindness is shaken when he makes a connection with a blind man, which allows him to see for the first time. We will examine how Carver’s choice of first-person point of view gives us a depiction of the narrator’s traits through his tone of voice while encountering Robert, the blind man and the irony of blindness that the narrator himself faces through his lack of understanding until his self-realization at the end of the story.

    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

  • The Powerful Message Of Perspective In Raymond Carver's Cathedral

    555 Words  | 2 Pages

    Cathedral is a short story that evokes a powerful message of perspective. With only three underdeveloped characters and 13 pages, Raymond Carver is able to present a life altering, and rather relatable snippet in one man’s life. With little details or development, one can distinguish tenseness between characters, and especially in the husband’s inner dialog. Along with the husband’s discomfort, Carver also alludes to a cold power complex, mostly caused by discrimination, between the husband and the blind man. The husband, wife, and blind man are coming together for the first time, and readers are subject to the husband’s views transforming.

    Read More

  • The Narrator In John F Kennedy's Cathedral

    682 Words  | 2 Pages

    Cathedral was a very interesting short story. It was something that seemed to be personal to the narrator as if he had lived this situation himself. The story did not seem overstated or made up. This story could reflect anybody, because who know when one might get a long lost visitor or learning something new from a complete stranger. The narrator, a man being very prejudice against people who are different then him, especially the narrators wife’s friend Robert who is blind. In the words of John F. Kennedy, “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future” (Quotations about Change). The very thing that most people attempt to avoid, often at high costs to themselves, actually can become one of the most rewarding experiences and defining moments in someone’s life. His hatefulness and judgmental statue is four fold in the beginning of the story and changes by the end. With each new step in the story, the narrator learns more of the blind man and realizes more about himself.

    Read More

  • The Blind Man Exposed In Bub's Cathedral

    603 Words  | 2 Pages

    One conceivable theme for the story "Cathedral" may be in spite of the fact that you are blind you may see clearer than any other person. I think the blind man was the person who instructed and influenced the spouse. Blind individuals are not totally blind; they can "see" things.

    Read More

  • The Narrator In Raymond Carver's The Cathedral

    490 Words  | 1 Pages

    Raymond carver’s shorty story “The Cathedral” is nothing short of a classic, it tells of a story about a very judgmental unnamed narrator who is playing host to one of his wife’s old friends who happens to be blind. Nearing the end of the story the narrator realizes he might have been living life the wrong way not enjoying the simplicity’s of life, thanks to the presence of the blind man being such a gentle, carefree and kind individual. It changes the narrator’s whole perspective on life. Carver uses a lot of good imagery to show the narrators changed perspective.

    Read More

  • Response To The Story Behind Cathedral

    405 Words  | 1 Pages

    The title to this story threw me off because when I think of the word “cathedral,” I think of a church filled with people whose ultimate goal, for most, is to live a life free of sin. I think that it was ironic that the characters were doing “sinful” things such as smoking marijuana. Also, the husband was very judgmental Robert. He judged him based on his past and also the fact that he was bind. I also think that the husband is jealous of Robert because of his past with the narrator’s wife. Smoking marijuana, judging, and jealously are all sins according to the church. Toward the end of the story, the narrator draws a cathedral on a piece of papers so that Robert could visualize it in his head. I think that the cathedral symbolizes sight

    Read More

  • Describe The Cathedral Research Paper

    483 Words  | 1 Pages

    Moving over the hillside in the distance I see skyward stretching spires standing out against the horizontal terrain of the farming land that surrounds Chartres Cathedral at its place at the center of the community. As I draw closer the spires pulls my eyes upwards toward Heavens. The flying buttress, which allowed significantly taller towers and ceilings to be constructed, adding to the enormity of the structure as well as creating a wing-like facade giving an angelic impression to yet again reinforce the heavenly purpose of the cathedral.

    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

  • Seeing Versus Looking In Raymond Carver's Cathedral

    1017 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral,” a major theme is the distinction between looking and seeing. Merriam-Webster defines looking as “directing your eyes in a particular direction” (m-w.com). It is passively taking in a sight without truly understanding it. In contrast, seeing is understanding and appreciating the value of something, whether or not we have the privilege to physically see the object. In “Cathedral,” the narrator struggles with seeing until an unlikely character helps him to find his sight and appreciate the gift of seeing in both a literal and figurative sense. This unlikely character, a blind man named Robert, demonstrates to the narrator that seeing is a multifaceted and active action. Carver uses the metaphor of sight in “Cathedral” to exemplify the importance of understanding other people, our lives, and the world around us by gaining a deeper appreciation through seeing.

    Read More

More about cathedral

Open Document