Positive Transformation In Cathedral, By Raymond Carver's Cathedral

818 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Literary Analysis of Cathedral by Raymond Carver

The happenings described in Cathedral a story by Raymond Carver on one night, however we have a tendency to see a range of transformations. Bub the narrator of Cathedral smokes marijuana and drinks lots of scotch. Bub can get complete unpleasant when he's jealous. By the end of the story, all the characters can experience dramatic change, and even different vision. Cathedral explores chance of positive transformation through productive message.

"I don't have any blind friends," I said. "You don't have any friends, she said. "Period." (Cathedral) Little did either of them grasp that the narrator would actually have a friend by the end of the evening, or a minimum of the possible starting of a friendly relationship. Bub believed a blind person behaved came largely from media-generated pictures of blindness: "My idea of blindness came from the movies." (Cathedral) Bub had believed "a blind did not smoke because" they could not see the smoke they blow out.
Jealousy is not a sign of a healthy relationship. But, the narrator appears to want to satisfy his wife. She says: "If you love me, you can do this for me. If you don't love me, okay. But if you had a friend, any friend, and the friend came to visit, I'd make him feel comfortable." (Cathedral) He delivers. He shows her he loves her by making Robert feel happy. Narrator shows his wife that he loves her within the way that she asks him to. The passage advocates that she loves the narrator. She's locution as a result of I love you I'd be nice to your friends.
Bub is afraid that when Robert shows up, he'll see his wife and Robert are more than friends. But, he does not pursue this instinct. A result of once he meets Robert he sees however silly he has been. Not because his wif...

... middle of paper ...

...n supposing he will see the cathedral, he can't describe what he sees as a result of he very doesn't know it. Only by drawing the cathedral along with his eyes closed will the teller bridge the gap between seeing and understanding.
During this story, the storyteller, who is bias, is drastically changed once a blind man Robert opens the narrator's eyes to understanding the deeper that means of the globe around him. The story primarily focuses on the storyteller and there for the approach Robert changes the narrator's perspective about the world and him. At the end of the story, Robert has a friend, no longer a hazard or an opponent. Absorbing that Robert is a good man, and that his spouse and Robert are just friends. It also presents an acquaintance in mutual, which is somewhat they seem absent. Bub might furthermore improvement a better relationship with his wife.

Show More
Related

  • Social Differences In Raymond Carver's Cathedral

    1136 Words  | 3 Pages

    My own high school experience brought me one of my best friends who I hadn’t paid much attention to because she was in a different clique. I wouldn’t have even considered starting a friendship with her if I hadn’t gotten past my prejudiced ways and opened my mind. The story of “Cathedral” provides a very optimistic ending, which wouldn’t have been possible without the narrator’s initial negative traits. The blind man’s likeable character eventually helps the narrator to have a sort of epiphany in which he appears to leave behind his

    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 Character Of Bub In Raymond Carver's Cathedral

    950 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the short story “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver, the narrator, Bub, is as metaphorically blind as his guest, Robert, is literally blind. Bub has many unwarranted misconceptions about life, blind people in particular. He also has many insecurities that prevent him from getting too close to people. Through his interaction with Robert, Bub is able to open his mind and let go of his self-doubt for a moment and see the world in a different light.

    Read More

  • Redemption Theme in Cathedral by Raymond Carter

    1957 Words  | 4 Pages

    The story introduced us to the narrator with him discussing how a blind man was coming to visit him and his wife. His wife and this blind man seemed to have a strong relationship considering they would send tapes back and forth to one another to keep in touch. The narrator was not keen on the idea of this blind man being company. “I wasn’t enthusiastic about his visit,” he states. In his defense, this reaction would seem normal coming from a husband whose wife is friendly with another man. Facknitz defends my statement by bringing up the time when the narrator’s wife had worked for the blind man and he let her touch his face (par. 17). The wife talking to the narrator says, “She told me he ran his fingers over every part of her face, her nose-even her neck! She never forgot it. She even tried to write a poem about it.” Facknitz mentions, “Clearly he is jealous, and so emphasizes the eroticism of the blind man’s touch,” (par. 18). Even though the narrator may not have many feelings toward people in his life, he suitably is upset with the extent of his wife and the blind man’s relationsh...

    Read More

  • Metamorphosis of the Narrator in Cathedral by Raymond Carver

    1097 Words  | 3 Pages

    The narrator is not only insensitive, but ignorant as well. His beliefs about the blind are based on only what he has seen in the movies. He believes that the blind are led by seeing eye dogs, wear sunglasses, carry walking sticks, and move very slowly. Robert does none of these things, much to the narrator's surprise. When Robert lights a cigarette, the narrator is surprised.

    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

  • Lack of Vision in Carver's Cathedral

    1250 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...nd optimistic" (Watson 114). The few critics who have written specifically about "Cathedral" tend concentrate on that optimism, seen at the end of the story with the narrator’s "esthetic experience [and] realization" (Robinson 35). In concentrating on the final "realization" experienced by the narrator, the literary community has overlooked his deep-rooted misunderstanding of everything consequential in life.

    Read More

  • The Character of the Husband in Raymond Carver's Story Cathedral

    1110 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Raymond Carver's "Cathedral," the husband's view of blind men is changed when he encounters his wife's long time friend, Robert. His narrow minded views and prejudice thoughts of one stereotype are altered by a single experience he has with Robert. The husband is changed when he thinks he personally sees the blind man's world. Somehow, the blind man breaks through all of the husband's jealousy, incompetence for discernment, and prejudgments in a single moment of understanding.

    Read More

  • Blindness in Raymond Carver's Cathedral

    888 Words  | 2 Pages

    As a result of his inability to relate with Robert, he thinks his behaviors are odd, and is unable to understand the relationship he has with his wife. His wife worked for this blind man many years ago, reading him reports and case studies, and organizing his "...little office" (Carver 98) in the county's social-service department. He remem¬ bers a story his wife told about the last day she worked for him. The blind man asked her if he could touch her face, and she agreed.

    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

  • Summary of Raymond Carver's Cathedral

    486 Words  | 1 Pages

    He constantly complains that “a blind man in my house was not something [he looked] forward to” (362). The close friendship between the narrator’s wife and Robert provokes his insecurities. This friendship has lasted for ten years and during those years, they have exchanged countless tapes regarding experiences they have gone through. Because of this, her husband feels “she [has] told him everything or it seems” (363) about their relationship. Upon the arrival of his wife’s friend, the husband is ultimately uncomfortable around Robert because he does not know how to communicate with or act around him.

    Read More

  • Raymond Carver's Cathedral

    1088 Words  | 3 Pages

    The narrator also feels intimidated by his wife?s relationship with the blind man. When he is telling of her friendship with Robert h...

    Read More

  • Cathedral by Raymond Carver

    837 Words  | 2 Pages

    One example that shows that the husband is "blind" is shown in the beginning of the story before Robert arrives to his home. When the husband and wife talk about Robert, the husband usually refers to him as "This blind man..." (Carver 237). The narrator never uses Robert’s name when referring to him. This shows that the husband does not really see Robert as a person, but just as a blind man who is different because of his disability to physically see. When Robert arrives to the house, the husband does not know what to say to him. The husband asks questions that would normally be unacceptable to ask a blind person about the view from the train. “Which side of the train did you sit on?” (240). The husband knows that Robert cannot see the view, but he asks him rude questions anyway. The husband also thinks to himself, "I didn’t know what to say to that,” (242). This is a clear indication that the narrator does not know how to relate to Robert. Both of these quotations show that the husband does not know what to talk about with Robert becau...

    Read More

  • Character Analysis Of Raymond Carver's Cathedral

    790 Words  | 2 Pages

    The narrator is uneasy with the thought of Robert staying in his house and believes that he is superior to the blind man. Even before an introduction is satisfied between the narrator and Robert, the narrator is a bit disturbed to have Robert staying in his house. Within the first paragraph of the story, the narrator’s agitation towards Robert is made apparent. “I wasn’t enthusiastic about his visit. He was no one I knew. And his being blind bothered me” (Carver 33). The narrator assumes from Robert’s blindness that he is going to just be a nuisance to have to host because

    Read More

More about Positive Transformation In Cathedral, By Raymond Carver's Cathedral

Open Document