Ignorance And Prejudice In Raymond Carver's Cathedral

Inherent to Raymond Carver’s work “Cathedral,” are the themes of ignorance and prejudice as they lead to the confinement and isolation of the narrator. Carver makes these themes apparent to the reader through his distinct plot, point of view, relative tone, and use of dialogue. Carver endures a personal transformation that is demonstrated through the use of irony and symbolism. Through his profound use of symbolism and vivid imagery, Carver exemplifies a dramatic development of character that is central to the narrative as a whole and ultimately gives the narrative an unexpected turn. Carver illustrates how the plot of the narrative gives way to understand how the narrator becomes this ignorant person, expresses his tone to show the way he

The reader is offered a clear vision of the narrator’s ignorance and prejudice by having intimate access to the narrator’s mental process. All the while, the tone expressed gives a major sense of the way he acts out towards others and himself from his ignorant nature. The entire narrative occurs in one night as the narrator hosts a guest at his house. The narrator explains to his wife that he is not thrilled about this guest; a blind man named Robert who has a history with his wife. The narrator claims he believes “the blind” to be gloomy and miserable, which he bases solely off of movie characters and his imagination, clearly demonstrating his infamous ignorance. This supposition adds a dramatic tone. Additionally, it expresses the first hints of the narrator’s ignorance towards humanity and his limited viewpoints. He says, “A blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to”

He becomes snide and nasty as he communicates with Robert, the audience, and himself. He is bitter about the fact that Robert, unfamiliar company from the outside world, is coming to visit, not to mention he is blind. Blindess is a trait that the narrator clearly puts a bad connotation on, also expressing his hostile tone. When Robert’s wife, who passed away from cancer, is brought up in conversation, the narrator’s wife becomes extremely irritated by his reaction. "I don't have any blind friends," I said. "You don't have any friends," she said. "Period. Besides," she said, "goddamn it, his wife's just died! Don't you understand that? The man's lost his wife!" I didn't answer. She'd told me a little about the blind man's wife. Her name was Beulah. Beulah! That's a name for a colored woman. "Was his wife a Negro?" I