Raymond Carver's A Small Good Thing
Raymond Carver's "A Small Good Thing," a short story that has to do with the lack of interaction and empathy between the baker, Ann and Howard, the finale where the baker is startled to find out about the child's death, asks for mercy and presents them warm cinnamon rolls telling them that "Eating is a small, good thing in a time like this" and they are comforted, reveals particular significance of the title in terms of the story's theme. Also, Raymond Carver's "Cathedral," a story that starts with an ignorant and rude narrator whose wife has called a blind friend to spend the night at their home and according to Carver, "A blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to,"(38) has some parallels in thematic content that is revealed in both stories.
In "A Small Good Thing," after Howard returns home, the baker keeps on calling him and telling him about the cake, but Howard tells him "I don't know anything about a cake, Jesus what are you talking about?" The theme here is the lack of communication between Howard and Ann. Ann never tells Howard about the cake she ordered before Scott's accident.
After the call Howard pours some whiskey for himself, but before returning to the hospital he does not eat anything. The same situation happens after Ann and Howard return home from the hospital after Scott's death. This is where the title has significance in terms of the story's theme. If Ann and Howard had eaten something before they left to see Scott and be with him, their infuriation would not have aggravated till the point where they let out all their rage at the baker. This infuriation is caused by the doctors for not being able to answer their questions about why Scotty is ...
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...nything. It's really something."(48-49) From this, one can tell that the narrator is studying more about human interaction and himself than what the blind man is studying about cathedrals.
In "A Small Good Thing," the empathy lies around Ann and Howard's rage at the baker. In reality, the main culprits of their rage are the doctors that kept on providing them hope that their son will wake up. Their lack of communication here led them to this lack of empathy with the baker.
Carver's similar use of the thematic content revealed in both stories not only tells the reader what these themes have in common in totally different situations, but exhibits the style of writing and way that this author shows the orthodox pictures concerning particular individuals with strange personalities.
Works Cited:
Carver, Raymond. "A Small, Good Thing." Donald Hall 262-278
works of literature have tremendous amounts of similarity especially in the characters. Each character is usually unique and symbolizes the quality of a person in the real world. But in both stories, each character was alike, they represented honor, loyalty, chivalry, strength and wisdom. Each character is faced with a difficult decision as well as a journey in which they have to determine how to save their own lives. Both these pieces of literatures are exquisite and extremely interesting in their own ways.
At first glance, one might assume Raymond Carver’s "Cathedral" illustrates the awakening of an insensitive and insulated husband to the world of a blind man. However, this literal awakening does not account for the fact that the husband awakens also to a world of religious insight, of which he has also been blind. The title and story structure are the first indicators of the importance of the religious thesis. It is also revealed when one examines the language and actions of the characters in the story. Finally, Carver’s previous and subsequent writings give an overall background for the argument that "Cathedral" has a significant religious import.
In Raymond Carver's 'The Bath' and rewritten version of the story entitled 'A Small, Good Thing', the author tells the same tale in different ways, and to different ends, creating variegated experiences for the reader. Both stories have the same central plot and a majority of details remain the same, but the effects that the stories have upon the reader is significantly different. The greatest character difference is found in the role of the Baker, and his interaction with the other characters. The sparse details, language and sentence structure of 'The Bath' provide a sharp contrast emotionally and artistically to 'A Small Good Thing'. In many ways, 'The Bath' proves to have a more emotional impact because of all that it doesn't say; it's sparse, minimalist storytelling gives the impression of numbed shock and muted reactions. The descriptive storytelling of 'A Small Good Thing' goes deeper into the development of the characters and although it tells more story, it ends on a note of hopefulness, instead of fear or desperation. Each story has it's own magic that weave it's a powerful. When compared to each other the true masterpiece of each story is best revealed.
... creation, asking him what he thinks, the husband keeps his eyes closed, feeling it something he "ought to do." He tells Robert, "It's really something," maybe not referring to the picture, but the actual experience, the way he is seeing a cathedral like the blind man sees it (357).
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".
Carver’s purpose of having the narrator of the short story use imagery allows for the reader to be able to understand each and every moment he lives while explaining the blind man’s, Robert, visit to his home. In Cathedral, the narrator tells the story very detailed and descriptive. For instance, when the narrator describes his wife’s arrival with Robert, “I saw my wife laughing as she parked the car. I saw her get out of the car and shut the door…She went around to the other side of the car to where the blind man was already starting to get out…he was wearing a full beard!” Here, the author makes the narrator describe the scene and details it as if he is describing it to a blind person. Most of the short story uses imagery which makes clear images in the reader’s mind to unders...
end. This essay will further show how both stories shared similar endings, while at the same time
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.
In the story "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver, it tells of how a blind man is open to new experiences and how he views the world compared to the husband (narrator) who is blinded by the material things of life. The husband is given the gift of sight but the true gift comes from seeing the cathedral. At the beginning of the story, the husband’s outlook on others is filled with stereotypes, discrimination, insecurities and prejudice. After interacting with Robert, his wife's friend, his outlook begins to change significantly.
In Raymond Carver’s story, “Cathedral,” the story tells of how a close outside relationship can threaten a marriage by provoking insecurities, aggravating communication barriers, and creating feelings of invasion of privacy. The husband in the story is given the gift of seeing the cathedral through a blind man’s eyes. Although the title suggests that the story is about a cathedral, it is really about two men who come together and share a vision and realize it is he who is blind.
Tobias Wolff’s “Hunters in the Snow” is a suspense type of story, with an unexpected turn in the end, while William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” could far into the horror genre, because of the baffling atmosphere. These two short stories have similar focuses on symbolism, foreshadowing, settings, atmosphere, and themes; with this in mind they also have many differences such as the writer’s style.
The short story “Cathedral'; includes three characters. These characters include the narrator, his wife, and her blind friend Robert. Early into the story, the narrator expresses that he possesses many stereotypes, these stereotypes keep him “blind'; from the true reality of blind people. The narrator says “My idea of blindness came from the movies, the blind moved slowly and never laughed. Sometimes they were led by seeing-eye dogs.'; This explains where the narrator originally gains his misconceptions of blind people. The narrator’s wife tells him that Robert will be visiting for the weekend. Once Robert arrives at their home, the narrator is shocked to find out that Robert doesn’t wear dark glasses, carry a cane, and is wearing a full beard. Throughout the story some of the narrator’s stereotypes are erased. Howeve...
“Compare the ways in which the authors of the two texts convey ideas about art through their central characters?
Raymond Carver uses strategic dialogue and point of view to articulate themes in his short stories. Another tactic Carver uses in his writing is analyzing basic human skills such as the ability to define love through intimate relations between characters that reveal deeper meaning. In the short stories “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” and “Cathedral,” he investigates relationships and how the characters develop the true meaning of love. While reading these two short stories the reader is able to comprehend the similarities that draw Carver’s works together. Through these stories the reader is also able to understand his outlook on love and human kinship. Carver uses certain strategies and techniques that allow him to bring a parallel between his different stories, but there are also definite things that set each story apart.
In both texts, the authors use characterization to illustrate how the past experiences of a specific character are able to have such a