Allie Davis
Professor Tomanek
English 120-1:30
22 September 2014
Change in Character; Evaluating Human Behavior in Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral”
Humans have natural capacity to judge their own species and a history of ostracizing members of their own into unfavorable categories both in physical and mental ways. Although governments around the world have stood up for equality and made laws that prohibit segregation, humans continue to make negative judgments and treat people unfairly based on them. In his short story “Cathedral” Raymond Carver suggests the idea that naturally judgmental humans lack insight until an experience similar to the narrator’s allow them to become vulnerable, gain perspective, and grow as a person.
Humans naturally create
…show more content…
a subconscious barrier between themselves and any new thing they are introduced to. As sort of a protection, people put others into categorizes and judge them based on a certain characteristic that stands out to them. For example, the narrator in “Cathedral” constantly refers to his wife’s friend as “this blind man” (Cathedral 209-221). He chooses to only identify him by his blindness, a shallow characteristic, rather than by the other positive characteristics he possesses because he is insecure about his wife’s close friendship with the man. By mentally creating his wife’s friend one-dimensional, he creates a barrier that eliminates him as a threat to his marriage. A majority of people relate to the narrator in this situation, whether they consciously know it or not. The experience that finally allows the narrator to become vulnerable and recognize Robert’s complex personality occurs after the narrator’s wife falls asleep between them, forcing them to engage in conversation. After conversing, Robert expresses interest in what a cathedral looks like. The narrator takes down the barrier he created to dehumanize Robert and becomes vulnerable by allowing their hands to join as they draw a cathedral together (Cathedral 227). The vulnerability the narrator experiences provides enough attention for him to see something more in Robert and what he goes through every day. A contributing factor to why humans lack perspective, is their inability to physically go through the same experiences as another human.
Certain judgments are harmless, such as remembering one by an article of clothing that stands out, while other judgments prove ones character is flawed. In “Cathedral”, the narrator is portrayed as very insensitive when he mocks his wife’s poem about an experience she had with Robert when he touched her face. He says “I didn’t think much of the poem. Of course, I didn’t tell her that” (Cathedral 210). This shows that he lacks insight and understanding of even his own wife. If the narrator can’t even connect with his wife’s feelings, it is inferred that he also has trouble connecting with others feelings as well. In a similar instance, when the narrator’s wife educates him about Robert’s wife’s passing he says, “Her name was Beulah. Beulah! That’s a name for a colored woman” (Cathedral 210). This highlights the narrator’s lack of perspective, as a sympathetic response would not have involved the origin of her name, but rather how the deceased spouse was handling the loss. Soon after, the narrator further proves his insensitivity to both his wife’s thoughts and Robert’s situation when he says “Right then my wife filled me in with more detail than I cared to know” (Cathedral 213). The author suggests that a dramatic change occurs after Robert and the narrator draw the cathedral by choosing the narrators closing words to be “It’s really something” (Cathedral 228). Because of this and the fact that he actively participates in the cathedral drawing, reader infers that the narrator truly does change his attitude towards Robert and perhaps his perspective on life as
well. Once vulnerability is established, and perspective is gained, a person is given the opportunity to mentally grow as a person. Once flawed character is transformed into sympathetic and understanding character. The immediate proof that the narrator grows as a person is obvious when comparing his thoughts and behaviors pre and post experience. The narrator expressed that he was uncomfortable with Robert when his wife disappears for a time and he says, “I wished she’d come back downstairs. I didn’t want to be left alone with the blind man.”(Cathedral 219). This also expresses that the narrator had no desire to get to know Robert and that he was content with the one-dimensional understanding he had of ‘the blind man’. Finally within the last paragraphs of the story, the narrator begins to grow as he opens up and wants to understand Robert. While drawing the cathedral, the narrator’s wife awakens and asks the narrator what they are doing but he is too engulfed and moved by their actions to answer her (Cathedral 278). The change in character becomes even more apparent as drawing continues and Robert asks the narrator to close his eyes. The narrator, without question, does so and goes on to say “It was like nothing else in my life up to now.”(Cathedral 228). The simple and beautiful experience that Robert presents the narrator with gives him all of the things he needed to develop in to a generally more thoughtful person. Priceless experiences like the one that occurred between the narrator and Robert in “Cathedral” shape humans into better people. The necessary steps that change a person’s mentality have proven to be vital in the process of altering a human’s natural judgment. Raymond Carver successfully proves the theme that the cure for lack of insight includes changes of becoming vulnerable, gaining perspective, and growing as a person. Work Cited Carver, Raymond. “Cathedral” Cathedral. New York: Vintage Commentary, 1989
Throughout high school, I had always judged people based on the social groups they were associated with. I tended to spend my time with friends who were in the same clique as me and didn’t give others a chance. This all changed once I met a girl in my PE class, who later became my best friend. I hadn’t considered her to be much like me because she hung out with a different, less popular crowd. However as she began to talk to me and we started to spend more time together I realized what an amazing person she was. I regretted letting our social differences set us apart in the first place. In “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver, the narrator has difficulty feeling any sense of empathy towards his wife’s blind friend; but with the help of the blind man’s
These audiotapes represent a distinguished type of communication that requires no visual interaction, but an interface that involves understanding and empathy instead, something the narrator has not yet learned. At this point of the story the narrator believes that Robert could not have possibly fulfilled his now deceased wife’s, Beulah’s, aspirations as seen when he states, “I found myself thinking what a pitiful life this woman must have led,” (37). The narrator bases his reason solely on the fact that the man is blind, so how could he have ever interacted or contributed in their relationship. In reality, though, it is the narrator himself, who has not fully satisfied or even begun to fully appreciate his own wife. The audiotapes symbolize this absence of appreciation and reveals to the reader that the narrator has not even considered this “harmless chitchat,” (36) as he describes it, to be of importance to his own marriage. It is not until the end, when he finishes drawing the cathedral that he is capable of understanding what his wife and Robert share. The cathedral is the other major symbol in this story, since it is the pivotal turning point for when the narrator becomes a dynamic character. Without the cathedral the narrator would not have succumbed to his new acceptance of what it means to actually see someone or something. When the narrator says, “I didn’t feel like I was inside anything,” (46) this is the indication of that epiphany coming to him. Moments before, the narrator had just explained to Robert that he did not “believe in it [religion]. In anything,” (45) however, this insightful moment now contradicts that statement, supporting the notion that the narrator has advanced as a character. Furthermore, a cathedral, which is assumed to bring solace and a new light to those in pursuit of one, offered the
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.
In the short story Cathedral, by Raymond Carver, there is a direct contrast between a blind man named Robert, and the narrator. The narrator has full use of his senses, and yet he is limited to the way he sees things, and the way he thinks. Robert however, has a very different outlook on life and how he sees things, as well as the use of his senses. At the end of the story, Robert has the narrator close his eyes to try and get him to experience the world the way he does. The narrator ends up being able to not only see the way Robert does, but he also is able to feel the world in a completely different way. The author suggests that the mind is most important in how people view things, and the judgements we make are based on what we see in our heads, instead of what is really there.
As I walked up the street toward the front of Grace Cathedral, I was in awe at the size and ornateness of this cathedral. It was tall and wide and looked very much like the churches we had been studying in class in the prior weeks. As I got closer and closer I began to make out The Ghiberti Doors, also known as the gates of paradise. These are the main cathedral doors made out of bronze, and are replicas of the originals which stood centuries ago at the east entrance to the Baptistry of Florence Cathedral (the Duomo) Italy. I approached and spent about fifteen minutes, just examining all the different engraved scenes within the ten sections in the two doors. After I had finished looking at the Ghiberti Doors, I entered through one of the side doors, since you are not able to use the Ghiberti Doors, because they weight too much. Before I stepped inside the cathedral, I pulled out my text analysis and read over it, so that when I entered I could examine whether or not this cathedral exuded the same sacredness as the cathedral in the text analysis. I feel this Cathedral really does exude not entirely the purity of heaven, but does seem to somewhat separate you from the outer world, as Abbot Suger spoke of. Also, it brings in some of the surrounding beauty from St. Denis, such as the sapphire and stained glass, as well as the gold plating.
The significance of the final scene in Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral” is important because illustrates how people with a negative demeanor can develop into a person with a positive attitude towards others. In the story, Bub not only falsely assumes bad things about blind people, but also about others as well. For example, he assumes that Roberts wife is a “negro” woman because her name was Beulah. The things that Bub assumes about Robert and Beulah resemble Bub’s negative attitude and personality toward the blind man and Beulah. Towards the end of the story, as Bub and Robert were watching television, the show featured a particular Cathedral. Robert asked Bub to describe the Cathedral when Robert says, “I wish you’d do it. I’d like that. If you
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.
In the story "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver, the main character, goes through a major personal transformation. At the beginning of the story, his opinions of others are filled with stereotypes, discrimination and prejudice. Through interaction with his wife's blind friend Robert, his attitude and outlook on life changes. Although at first he seemed afraid to associate with a blind man, Robert's outgoing personality left him with virtually no choice. During Robert's visit, he proved to be a normal man, and showed the speaker that by closing his eyes, he could open his mind.
Don’t judge a book by its cover. We have all heard this cliché at least once in our lifetime. But how many times have we ever followed through with this expression? The author Raymond Carver writes about an experience where a couple is visited by the wife’s acquaintance Robert, whose wife has recently passed. The fact that Robert is blind belittles him in the eyes of the narrator, causing tension and misjudgment. In “Cathedral”, Carver uses irony, point of view, and symbolism to show the difference between looking and truly seeing.
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.
Raymond Carver utilizes his character of the husband, who is also the narrator, in his short story "Cathedral." From the beginning of the story the narrator has a negative personality. He lacks compassion, has a narrow mind, is detached emotionally from others, and is jealous of his wife's friendship with a blind man named Robert. He never connects with anyone emotionally until the end of this story.
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.
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,
Raymond Carter is the author of a short story titled “Cathedral”. This story is set approximately a few decades ago in southern rural America, and is about a husband, his wife, and her best friend Robert who will be coming to visit them in their home. Throughout the story however, the narrator will encounter a few instances that will make him rethink not only the way he acts, but his way of life all together.
In Cathedrals, the narrator starts his journey to enlightenment once the blind man enters the house. The first step towards the narrator’s understanding is when he learns that Robert smokes. The narrator believed in a misconception that blind people did not smoke because they are unable to see the smoke. However this was disproved when Robert smoked his cigarette. This caused the narrator to feel more connected to the blind man, because even though Robert was different, they both had a similarity. The second step, that shows the narrator’s change in perspective, occurred when they ate dinner. This scene alludes to The Last Supper, because of the wine, bread, and prayer. This also shows that the narrator’s disposition is slowly transfiguring. The final step towards the narrator’s epiphany is when Robert asks him to explain what a cathedral is. After the narrator draws the cathedral on the paper, Robert tells him to close his eyes. This act forces the narrator to experience what Robert experiences every day. The narrator not only sympathizes with Robert for the first time, but he truly understands that being different is not bad. In A Good Man Is Hard to Find, the grandmother experiences an epiphany as well. While she is trying to explain to the Misfit that he actually is a good man, she realizes the flaws that she possesses. At the end of the story the grandmother cries out, “‘why, you’re one of my