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. The structural and technical features of the story point towards a religious epiphany. The title of the story, as well as its eventual subject, that of cathedrals, points inevitably towards divinity. Upon first approaching the story, without reading the first word of the first paragraph, one is already forced into thinking about a religious image. In addition, four of the story’s eleven pages (that amounts to one third of the tale) surround the subject of cathedrals. Adding to the obvious structural references to cathedrals and religion, the language and character actions present further evidence of an epiphany of divine proportions. The television program which the characters watch together deals entirely with cathedrals. This spurs the first real conversation between the narrator and the blind man. This presents religion as some form of common ground, on which one could stand, even without sight. When first asked by Robert, the blind man, if he was "in any way religious," the narrator asserts that he is not, and goes on to explain how cathedrals and religion "don’t mean any... ... middle of paper ... ... the eyes of a blind man, but also to appreciate the world through the eyes of a man of God. Works Cited/Consulted Bethea, Arthur F. "Carver’s ‘Wes Hardin: From a Photograph’ and ‘A Small Good Thing.’" The Explicator. Spring 1999. 176-178. Bethea, Arthur F. "Carver’s ‘Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?’" The Explicator. Spring 1998: 132-134. Carver, Raymond. "Cathedral." The Harper Anthology of Fiction. Ed. Sylvan Barnet. New York: HarperCollins, 1991. 1052-1062. Nesset, Kirk. "Insularity and Self-Enlargement in Raymond Carver’s ‘Cathedral.’" Essays in Literature. March 22, 1994: 116. Stull Williams. "Beyond Hopelessville: Another Side of Raymond Carver." Philological Quarterly. 1985: 1-15. Verley, Claudine. "Narration and Interiority in Raymond Carver’s ‘Where I’m Calling From.’" Journal of the Short Story in English 13. 1989: 91-102.
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.
Nesset, Kirk. "Insularity and Self-Enlargement in Raymond Carver's 'Cathedral.'" Essays in Literature. March 22, 1994: 116.
Carver, Raymond. "Cathedral." The Harper Anthology of Fiction. Ed. Sylvan Barnet. New York: HarperCollins, 1991. 1052-1062.
Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral” is a short story chock-full of irony. The story is presented from the point of view of the narrator, a jealous and somewhat bitter man, who remains nameless throughout. He is a man who has perfect eyesight, yet it is not until he meets a blind man, that he truly learns how to ‘see’.
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 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.
In Raymond Carver's short story, "Cathedral", we follow along with the narrator as he unknowingly describes his own prejudice , in which he is kept from appreciating more than can be seen and ultimately begins to understand that he is the one who is blind and unfulfilled through his interaction with a blind man. The metaphors of the bound men, found in Plato's "The Allegory of the Cave", can be related to the ignorance and prejudice of the unfulfilled narrator of "Cathedral", as the bound men suffer from a literal blindness and the narrator of "Cathedral" suffers from a metaphorical blindness, both of which will keep them from the truth and skew their perception of reality. Carver uses jealousy, prejudice, and substance abuse to develop a character, similar to the bound prisoners, that is devoid of self-fulfillment and figuratively blind in his relationship with the world around him.
Raymond Carver Jr. wrote short stories in settings that many would consider ordinary. His stories could often be described as drab, and many of them were characterized by a “zero-ending” or a cliffhanger. His stories often ended abruptly, leaving the reader with a number of unanswered questions. In his story Cathedral, the story appears to close with a “zero-ending.” However, there are many observations and inferences that can be made at the end of Cathedral that make it anything but a “zero-ending.”
5“Cathedral” is a short story written by Raymond Carver about a nameless narrator and his wife hosting her old friend who is blind to their home, Robert. The unnamed narrator and Robert spark a surprising and invigorating friendship when they get to know each other more. The story correlates to the idea of “life passages” that is discussed in the classroom. “Life passages” is how we live our lives, overcome our adversities, and how we achieve our goals, which leads to success. Two elements in particular that help to advance the class theme of “life passages” are, the characters of the narrator and Robert, and symbolism of the cathedral. These two elements in particular help the reader to better understand the story by drawing the reader in
As I began to read the short story called the "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver, the narrator describes his feelings towards Robert. He assumes what blind people are like from watching movies and he never meet a blind person before. The narrator at first feels hostile around him, but as time goes by he starts to open up. This all started when his wife says, "But if you had a friend, any friend, and the friend came to visit, I`d make him feel comfortable" (Carver 34). His view towards Robert changed when he knew where his food was when they were having dinner, he can sense that they had colored TV, and imagined what a cathedral looked like when the speaker was describing it. These events have taught him that you do not need vision to see the world`s
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
Through the short story, “Cathedral,” by Raymond Carver, occasions of the husband’s character change the connection once lost through blindness. Through a blind man’s innovative technique, the husband’s demeanor radically improves through one man’s handicap. Although the character’s change in behavior occurs shortly before the end of the story the husband and Robert sit on the floor to draw a cathedral, there are a few climaxes in the story that greatly begin to shape the husband’s overall perspective in life. Carver describes the setting of the story, which takes place in a middle-class apartment in New York, which gives a powerful shift in the husband’s
Cathedral” is a story by Raymond Carver, in which he explains the difference between “looking” and truly seeing. Truly “seeing” means understanding someone on a deeper level. It requires listening and truly hearing a person. A person can be blind, but can see right through others and their inner self. In the story, a blind man, who is an old friend of the narrator’s wife, visits the young couple. The narrator is skeptical towards the blind man at first. However, at the end, his attitude changes towards the blind man. Although blindness prevented him from physically seeing, nothing prevented him from “seeing” right through people and understanding them on a deeper level. The blind man asks the narrator to draw him a cathedral, which he does.
Progeria, otherwise known as Hutchinson-Gilford syndrome is an extremely rare, genetic childhood disorder with a reported incidence of about one in a million. Hutchinson reported the syndrome in 1886 when he found the first patient with Progeria. In 1904 Gilford described a second case of Progeria, thus creating the term to reflect the syndrome’s senile features. There are only about a hundred reported cases since the disorder has been discovered over a century ago. Currently, there are about thirty to forty known cases worldwide of Progeria. Affected children age up to seven times faster, have “plucked bird” appearance, many health problems and their lifespan is about thirteen years. There is neither known cause nor cure for this disease. It is usually first diagnosed based only on appearance and treatment is given for other conditions associated with the aging process rather the disease it self.
Being confronted to the unknown can be challenging and unpleasant. In his short story entitled “Cathedral” Raymond Carver portrays the journey of a man’s personal thought and understanding about life. Blindness is unfamiliar for the narrator, but when his wife decides to invite the blind man she has been corresponding with for several years to their house, he has no choice but being confronted with it. The journey of the main character in this short story reveals the difference between seeing and understanding.