In “what the cathedral said to the black boy”, the speaker, the cathedral, talks to the black boy, asking thought-provoking questions while attempting to convince him to rename himself as well as rethink his perception of himself. As the poem shifts from a more comforting tone to an imploring challenge, Smith uses unconventional sentence patterns, vocabulary, and tonal shift to stress the importance of a positive mindset where the black boy needs to believe in himself to be possible of success in order to achieve it while the stereotype-influenced world makes it clear it expects little of him. The first line of the poem, “come inside child / rest yourself” is a very comforting statement to start the poem, in contrast to the past ones in which …show more content…
It asks, “what does that ocean tell you child? that they’re frightened of you?” While the experience of talking to the ocean was more negative and condescending, the cathedral’s question asking if “they’re frightened of you” challenges the black boy to think of the conversation in a different way. During that conversation, the ocean had the upper hand with its taunts, the cathedral extracts some positivity and power, giving it to the black boy as it states “they fear you because they ain’t ready for your type of holy” referencing the fact that the black boy has an advantage spiritually and therefore should think more of himself, tracing back to the theme of a positive mindset while connecting with the perception of oneself. Then comes the conclusion to the poem, going back to a more comforting tone as the cathedral instructs the black boy to “close [his] eyes” describing them as “those stained glass shadows.” This statement again follows the theme of the necessity of a positive mindset, creating a multitude of possibilities out of one lens by painting the picture of what one
The following lines also give us a better look into the boy’s imaginative possibilities. “I wore my space helmet / to catechism?” (17, 18). “Sister Mary Bernadette / pointed towards the door / and said, “Out! Come back / when you’re ready.”(21-24) and from this point it is a fantastical retelling of the boy floating up through the roof of the church and escaping the church. Perhaps he left the church because he wasn’t allowed to wear his space helmet. And that might be his reasoning. But it was all a grand metaphor with the space helmet being his imagination and spirit and the Church not being the best place for him to express that. The poet again explores the conflict between an innocent free-thinking childhood and the restriction of
His outside actions of touching the wall and looking at all the names are causing him to react internally. He is remembering the past and is attempting to suppress the emotions that are rising within him. The first two lines of the poem set the mood of fear and gloom which is constant throughout the remainder of the poem. The word choice of "black" to describe the speaker's face can convey several messages (502). The most obvious meaning ... ...
The author is faced with the struggle of coming to terms with his homosexuality, which parallels the “internal” struggle of the form of the poem. The opening sentence of the poem, “In the hall of mirrors nobody speaks,” (Cole 1) sets the gloomy tone through the author’s use of imagery to create before the reader a silent dark hallway with mirrors. The other attribute that describes the bath, “An ember smolders before hollowed cheeks,” (2) ...
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 narrator in Raymond Carver’s "Cathedral" is not a particularly sensitive man. I might describe him as self-centered, superficial, and egotistical. And while his actions certainly speak to these points, it is his misunderstanding of the people and the relationships presented to him in this story which show most clearly his tragic flaw: while Robert is physically blind, it is the narrator who cannot clearly see the world around him.
“Cathedral,” a short story written by Raymond Carver, presents an intriguing story of an ignorant man 's lesson. During this story, Carver 's working class characters are crushed by broken marriages, financial issues, and fulfilling jobs, but they are frequently unable to understand or communicate their own sufferings. However, the main story consists of the narrator, known as “Bub,” facing an internal conflict about a blind man named Robert staying the night in his home. Regardless of the fact that this blind man is his wife 's long time friend, the narrator cannot find himself comfortable with such an idea because of his extreme prejudices. Although, despite the narrator’s conflict he finds himself connecting to Robert on a more personal
In the short story, Cathedral, by Raymond Carver, the author uses imagery, symbolism and narrates the story in first person point of view. The Cathedral’s main theme is being able to identify the difference between being able to look and/or see and it is portrayed through the main characters role in the story. Carver uses a unique style of writing which gives the short story a simple way for the reader to understand the story’s theme.
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.
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’.
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.
Jones employs the dynamics of change to his speaker throughout the poem. From an aimless vagrant to a passionate revolutionary, Jones plots his speaker's course using specific words and structural techniques. Through these elements, we witness the evolution of a new black man--one who is not content with the passivity of his earlier spiritual leaders. We are left with a threat--a steel fist in a velvet glove of poetry--and it becomes a poem that we "have to" understand, whether we want to or not.
Raymond Carver’s short story, “Cathedral,” portrays a story in which many in today’s society can relate. We are introduced from the first sentence of the story to a man that seems to be perturbed and agitated. As readers, we are initially unsure to the reasoning’s behind the man’s discomfort. The man, who seems to be a direct portrayal of Raymond Carver himself, shows his ignorance by stereotyping a blind man by the name of Robert, who has come to stay with he and his wife. From the very beginning, Carver shows his detest for Robert but over the course of the story eases into comfort with him and in the end is taught a lesson from the very one he despised.
In this poem, Frost includes his fear of the ocean and exaggerates its destructive power. As Judith Saunders stated that “The first thirteen lines have depicted an ocean storm of unusual force, and through personification the poet attributes to this storm a malign purposefulness” (1). Frost provided human characteristics on the storm to help prove his point that the ocean has bad intentions and its only purpose is to hurt him. Frost does not describe the waves as a result of unfavorable weather; he explains them as having a malignant intention to destroy the world. This poem revolves around the forces of nature and could be included in the long list of nature themed poems by Robert Frost.
The question about if college athletes should be paid has an unknown answer to many. There are two sides, the athletes should get paid and they shouldn’t. College athletes should and deserve to get paid because they bring money to the university when or if they win, with all their hard work and dedication, they already can be paid with scholarships, the NCAA pays for clothing expenses, medical and emergency travel, so why can’t they give some of that money to the athletes.
It is relatively easy to see the repression of blacks by whites in the way in which the little black boy speaks and conveys his thoughts. These racial thoughts almost immediately begin the poem, with the little black boy expressing that he is black as if bereaved of light, and the little English child is as white as an angel. The wonderful part of these verses is the fact that the little black boy knows that his soul is white, illustrating that he knows about God and His love.