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Symbolism of the cathedral in raymond carvers story
Symbolism of the cathedral in raymond carvers story
Symbolism in cathedral by raymond carver
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Through the Eyes of the Blind in Cathedral by Raymond Carver
You can never seem to know what's going on in another ones life, unless you put your feet in there shoes, so to judge, is simply ignorance. Raymond Carver's "Cathedral" is a story about how the narrator is uncomfortable with having his wife's blind friend, Robert, over. Roger has lost his wife, and to cope with her death, he planned to visit the narrator's wife. Without any knowledge whatsoever on how to act in accompany towards a blind man, the narrator seems to get a glimpse of what it is to truly fit into the blind mans shoe.
The narrator starts his story very unenthusiastic about Roger's visit. He based his ideas mainly from movies he remembered watching, "In the movies, the blind [moves] slowly and never [laughs]. Sometimes they [are] led by seeing-eye dogs." (209). With these ideas, it made it clear on how unaware he was towards blind people. It seemed as though he believed that blind people didn't have much to do with their lives.
He felt sorry for Robert, and basically pitied Robert's wife. The Narrator comments, "Imagine a woman who could never see herself as she was seen in the eyes of her loved one. A woman who could go on day after day and never receive the smallest compliment from her beloved. A woman whose husband could never read the expression on her face, be it misery or something better." (213). These were such shallow words to say to someone you have never even met yet, face to face. How can he forget that these were two people who fell in love with each other for who they are, for better or for worse. Beauty is only skin deep.
The narrator then anxiously awaits the arrival of Robert as he sips back his drink and watches televisi...
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...e narrator finishes up the drawing and Robert suggests that the narrator closes his eyes and continue to draw. The narrator agrees as if to try to see if he could be able to still draw the cathedral with his eyes shut. "I think you got it, take a look. What do you think?" Robert asked (228). But the narrator decided not to open his eyes, for I believe he has just seen how remarkable it is to be blind.
In conclusion I believe the narrator went through a life learning experience. He was afraid of the unfamiliar. He judged another being that he had never even met. He then got to be familiar with the unfamiliar. He then made a friend. I believe this story took the reader through the narrator's eyes, the eyes of the blind.
Works Cited
Carver, Raymond. "Cathedral." The Harper Anthology of Fiction Ed. Sylvan Barnet. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1991.
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.
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.
...interracial relationships. However because of the way he acts when he hears about the two of them, it is obvious that he has led a sheltered life. But even after his entire life of not understanding what was going on in the world around him, one night with Robert enlightened him and changed his view on people and his surrounding environment.
The narrator’s prejudice makes him emotionally blind. His inability to see past Robert’s disability stops him from seeing the reality of any relationship or person in the story. And while he admits some things are simply beyond his understanding, he is unaware he is so completely blind to the reality of the world.
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".
The irony between Robert and the narrator is that even though Robert is blind, he pays attention to detail without the need of physical vision. Roberts’s relationship with the narrator’s wife is much deeper than what the narrator can understand. Robert takes the time to truly listen to her. “Over the years, she put all kinds of stuff on tapes and sent the tapes off lickety-split. [...] She told him everything, or so it seemed to me” (Carver 124). This demonstrates that the narrator is in fact somewhat jealous of how his wife confides in Robert, but still overlooks the fact that he doesn’t make the slightest effort to pay attention to her. Also the narrator is not precisely blind, but shows a lack of perception and sensitivity that, in many ways, makes him blinder than Robert. Therefore, he has difficulty understanding people’s views and feelings that lie beneath the surface.
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.
...h it emotionally detached without the pleasure of living. In the end, when the narrator has his eyes closed drawing the cathedral, he is the most open he has even been to the world. The narrator’s limited point of view in the story was crucial in showing the reader that what will hold you back the most in life are your biases and judgments. If the story was told in Robert’s point of view, it would have been a joyful story about visiting a long time friend, even with the tragedy of his wife’s death. We would have never known of the prejudices that were held inside the husband, and no true theme would have come from the story. The limited point of view was used in a way that expanded upon the theme even more, and made for a stronger story structure.
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
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.
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...
From the beginning of his tale, the husband is quite bland on the subject of love. This is present when he tells the part about his wife's first husband, even going as far as to say the man doesn't deserve to be named because "he was the childhood sweetheart, and what more does he want" (348). When he tells of Beulah, Robert's wife, and her tragic death, he shows no compassion in mocking her for marrying a blind man. He even asks if the woman was a "Negro" because of her name. His materialistic views shine through when he feels actually pity for her because she could "never see herself as she was seen in the eyes of her loved one" (349). His lack of compassion for the tale of the blind man's marriage tells the reader that maybe the husband himself doesn't believe in love. When he refers to his wife's first husband as "this man who'd first enjoyed her favors" and "shrugs" when he thinks his wife is disappointed in his actions, it informs the reader he may look at relationships, even his own, as more of a business deal than a devotion of love (348, 350). His wry humor is major indication of his sarcastic character. He even makes a crack to his wife about the blind man befo...
The husband is self-absorbed, ignorant, and insensitive. He is only concerned with how Robert's visit will affect him. The husband's insensitivity is revealed early on in the story. He admits "A blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to" (104). He even goes a step further and suggest to his wife they should go bowling. Although he is insensitive, he is polite. He asks Robert if he would like a drink and tries to engage in small talk. Yet, he shows his insensitivity again when he asks him what side of the train he sat on during his travel.
The husband's view on the world at the start of the story was a narrow one that was based on his ignorance, which prevented him from gaining understanding. His long held misconceptions, especially about blindness, defined his expectations about things he did not understand. For instance, when the husband found out that Robert was coming to stay, he disliked the idea of someone who was blind, let alone someone who he didn't know, coming to visit and the husband's "idea of blindness came from the movies." He saw the blind people as people who "moved slowly and never laughed." This was not the limit of his ignorance as it was further displayed by his constant referral of Robert as "the blind man" and his assumption of Robert's deceased wife being a black person based solely on the name of Beulah. This assumption display his bigotry is not limited to Robert's blindness and that differences that he did not understan...