In the works of Literature an epiphany is “a moment of profound insight or revelation by which a character’s life is greatly altered” (24). In the short story “Cathedral” Raymond Carver uses epiphany to draw on the theme, blinded views can alter someone’s behavior. On the realistic level, epiphany advances the plot and character development because they are the basis for the story’s central action. They also help define the narrator and play a vital part in revealing the story’s theme. The following changes in the character’s views have shown an evident development. The narrator, an unnamed man is the most obvious protagonist of the story because he is the person telling the story and changes the most in that story. The narrators actions, …show more content…
“I wasn’t enthusiastic about his visit. He was no one I knew. And being blind bothered me” (104) The narrator has no knowledge of experiencing seeing a blind person. “My idea of blindness came from the movies” (104). With this, readers could sense that the narrator is jealous, grouchy, and angry that Robert’s presence affects the narrator’s wife because of the connection between both the wife and Robert. The author prepares readers for the enlightenment when Robert came for a visit and that is how cathedral came about. The narrator explains, “The TV showed this one cathedral” (110). In this scene, the narrator and Robert bonded about the appearance of the cathedral. Instantly, the narrator says to Robert, “Do you have any idea what a cathedral is? What they look like, that is? Do you follow me? If somebody says cathedral to you, do you have any notion what they’re talking about? Do you know the difference between that and a Baptist church, say” (111)? Robert is beginning to affect the narrator. Furthermore, the narrator is starting to realize that he enjoys Robert’s company as well as compelled to explore Robert’s eye sight limits, to help Robert visualize a cathedral. The narrator tries to describe a cathedral, but failed to do so, and retreats back into cynicism. The narrator’s response Robert’s question was, “the truth is, cathedrals don’t mean anything special to me. Nothing cathedrals. …show more content…
looking and seeing is different. Looking is simply physical vision. In contrast, seeing is being engaged on a deeper level. The narrator shows that he is capable of looking; looking at his wife, Robert, and his house. The narrator is not blind therefore feel superior. The narrator begins to change as Robert taught him to see beyond the surface of looking. The narrator feels enlightened and opens up to a new world of vision and imagination. This brief experience has a long lasting effect on the narrator. Being able to shut out everything around us allows an individual the ability to become focused on their relationships, intrapersonal well-being, and
The unnamed narrator does not see Robert, the blind man, as a person, but as someone different. The grandmother, on the other hand, believes in her appearance and belief that is better than other people. After the challenges they both face, they end up finding enlightenment. In “Cathedral,” the narrator was not certain on how to describe the Cathedral to Robert. The narrator resorts to drawing and with a pen in his hand, he had realized that Robert “closed his hand over my hand” and asks the narrator to “close your eyes” as they drew the Cathedral (75-76).
Conflict, defined as the opposition of two or more forces, remains the key ingredient in great stories. Conflict can be conveyed through an internal or external source, as well as one of these following forms: man vs. man, man vs. nature, man vs. supernatural, and man vs. himself. In Raymond Carver’s short story, Cathedral, the conflict is clearly man vs. himself. The narrator severely lacks sensitivity and can best be described as self-centered, superficial, and egotistical. While his actions certainly speak to these points, his misunderstanding of the people and relationships presented to him in this story present his biggest flaw.
He realizes how smart Robert is, and he keeps being shocked as the night goes on. While listening to a show about Cathedrals, Robert asks the narrator to describe him a Cathedral. The narrator tries his hardest, but can not do it. To combat this, Robert takes the narrator's hand and has him close his eyes and together they draw the church just from memory. After drawing the Cathedrals, the narrator describes the picture as, “ It’s really something” (103).He learns how seeing is not everything in life, and how wrong he was with his assumptions about Robert.
When Robert and the husband are drawing the Cathedral there’s a connection between them that is much different than when they first met. The husband is beginning to realize what it’s like not being able to see and having to feel everything. When he first tries to draw the Cathedral he can’t. The Cathedral has no meaning towards him. When he closes his eyes he gets a feel for the Cathedral when Robert guides his hand and he begins to understand the meaning of having to feel things.
At the end of the story the narrator had his hands closed drawing a cathedral. Everything Robert could do
A Cathedral is a place for people to go and worship, to connect with God. By drawing the Cathedral the narrator is in some ways also making a connection. For the first time, he appears to be able to see. The narrator's ignorance and preconceptions fade away because he sees that although Robert has the gift of knowing and understanding people. There is also a sense of irony at the end of the story.
The short story, "Cathedral" is told through first person narrative. The author Raymond Carver uses this point of view to tell the story through the perspective of an unknown narrator. In the beginning of the story, the audience learns that the narrator is arrogant and closeminded.
The protagonist in Raymond Carver’s essay “Cathedral” is the husband of the wife in the story. From the start he was never too thrilled to be having the blind man stay with him in his home. He felt uncomfortable and he also had no idea what to expect because he had never been around a blind man before. After his wife falls asleep the man seems to slowly start to have a more open mind when it comes to the blind man. They start to talk and connect.
The Cathedral Analysis In the Cathedral,the author uses the language and Communication to develop the-the story. The central theme of the short story written by Raymond Carver focuses on the ability to efficiently communicate and empathy. Without the blind man's ability to communicate so well, the cathedral could not have come to life. The author effectively develops this idea through using language and communication skill.
Because of his narcissistic personality, the narrator views his wife as an object, while the blind man, Robert, treats her as a friend and a confidant. The narrator’s inability to feel emotion causes him to value his wife’s body more than her emotions, therefore, he becomes jealous when the blind
In Cathedral, Robert asks, “But maybe you could describe one to me? I wish you’d do it. I’d like that. If you want to know, I really don’t have a good idea,” (11). After Robert requested this, the narrator found that he could not describe a cathedral.
The narrator tells the blind man, “I’m glad for the company” (Carver 111), which comes in a stark contrast compared to earlier in the story when the narrator specifically says that he was not thrilled about Robert’s company. This change in perspective can be attributed to the intoxicants since these changes occur right after the consumption and the reader is given nothing else to attribute this change to. Beyond his verbal statements, the narrator carries his new attitude a step further. The narrator takes Robert’s hand in order to draw a cathedral on TV. They draw, and through this experience, as stated by Eve Wiederhold, professor of George Mason University, “‘Cathedral” tells a story about insight and personal change” (100).
Throughout the story the reader can affirm that the wife has a deep, strong relationship with the blind man. The wife and the blind man share an intimate and vulnerable moments together; one includes when she lets him touch her face so he can remember her. Similarly, the narrator gets to share an intimate moment with Robert that leads to an epiphany. The epiphany that the narrator experiences when drawing a cathedral refers to seeing life from Robert, the blind man’s, point of view and seeing the struggles as well as life experiences a blind man must encounter on a daily basis.
Austin Barrett Gosia Gabrys English 1110.02 27 Oct 2015 Analysis of Cathedral The narrator of Raymond Carver's short story Cathedral starts by saying, "This blind man, an old friend of my wife's, he was on his way to spend the night. "The narrator continues to say that after the blind man's wife died while visiting her relatives in nearby Connecticut, he had called the narrator's wife to arrange a visit of old friends. The narrator admits he is not excited about this man coming to visit his wife.
Unfortunately, his efforts to describe a cathedral were unsuccessful. He feels as blind as Robert. The blind man suggested the narrator to draw one cathedral together. The wife didn’t comprehend what’s happening.