Theme and figurative language have been used by almost all writers throughout time to develop their ideas and stories. Fiction, nonfiction stories and anecdotes all could contain themes and figurative languages. In Raymond Carver’s short story, “Cathedral,” readers follow the narrator as he and his wife bring in an old, blind man into their home. The narrator is introduced as aloof, insensitive, and rude. As the story continues, the narrator is introduced to his wife’s former boss and friend, the blind man. The short story progresses through and gives details regarding the relationship between him and his wife along with the blind man. Using figurative language, Carver introduces and guides the readers to the theme at the end of his story, …show more content…
He writes the beginning of the story flatly, with little to no figurative language or descriptive words, using passive tone to describe things. Raymond Carver, “I can remember I didn't think much of the poem. Of course I didn't tell her that'' (Carver 3). This quote reveals the narrator’s tone and character in the beginning of the story as he reminisced of when he and his wife first began to see each other. He is portrayed as arrogant, informal, and flat. However, as the story progresses with the narrator and his wife, the narrator is seen changing his tone when the blind man appears and is introduced. The narrator’s tone changes as the blind man enters his life, “How could I even begin to describe it? But say my life depended on it. Say my life was being threatened by an insane guy who said I had to do it or else” (Carver 82). The narrator’s tone changes into a hysterical and urgent. He uses a metaphor to describe his urgency and his feelings from the blind …show more content…
Carver writes, “You’re cooking with gas now” (Carver 89). The blind man states this and makes this comment towards the narrator as the two sit and share a moment together, where the narrator attempts to draw what a Cathedral may look like. As the narrator gets more into drawing the Cathedral for the old man, the blind man is able to notice that the narrator is becoming more passionate and energetic with his strokes. At the end of the short story, “Cathedral,” by Carval, the narrator is seen sharing the final, ending moments of the story with the blind man. They are seen sharing these moments drawing the Cathedral and eyes closed. Carver, “My eyes were still closed. I was in my house. But I didn't feel like I was inside anything” (Carvar 135). This shows how the relationship between the narrator and the blind man have changed throughout the story. They are both together now, the insensitive narrator has now connected with the blind man, closing his eyes and sharing the moment. The narrator has put his insensitive tone away and has begun to finally see the blind man for who he was, regardless of the man being blind. Thus, revealing the theme of the passage, relationships and acceptance with
The story follows the narrator encountering his wife’s friend Robert, who is blind, and assimilating his prejudices throughout the encounter. When the story begins the narrator is more than closed off to the idea of the blind man visiting his home. He is uncomfortable with Robert’s knowledge of him because he does not wish to associate himself with a blind man, a condition which he looks down upon. When Robert arrives, he attempts to be friendly to the narrator, a sentiment that is little reciprocated. While never encountering a blind man, he has many preconceived notions prior to his arrival.
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).
From that moment, the narrator show his true side to me. It shows that he doesn’t not care about his wife feeling toward the blind man. After carefully reading “cathedral”, the narrator is jealous of the blind man relationship with his
Each thought is rapidly flowing through his mind, and he cannot stop thinking about his wife being with the blind man, Robert. The language of the narrator depicts the emotion that he has frequently attempted to conceal from his wife. Furthermore, the excessive use of the word “she” demonstrates how the husband is upset over his wife’s action, not the blind man’s. The husband is not upset when Robert is with his wife, but he is enraged over the thought of his wife voluntarily hanging out with Robert. “She worked with this blind man all summer.”
The narrator he is a portrait of a middle class man living paycheck to paycheck who must face the darkness in his life unlike the blind man .The Two characters both feel some sort of loneliness throughout the story, that’s why the narrator's wife invited the blind man over for dinner .The narrator isn't self aware enough to admit his longing for himself or being alone, but Robert tells him to realize that he is lacking for company. Both men start to warm up to each other and talk about their problems after
Blindness applies as both a physical and mental ailment. Raymond Carver portrays this concept to readers with his short story, Cathedral. Told from the point of view of a nameless narrator, Cathedral tells a tale of healing mental blindness and, ultimately, curing one’s ignorance. As the nameless narrator encounters Robert, a blind friend of his wife, he changes from a man with a nearsighted mentality to an aware, empathetic human being. The traits, psyche, and point of view of the narrator of Raymond Carver’s Cathedral each drive the plot toward a theme of healing and transformation.
Even those of us with sight can be blind; and although it may not be physical, the blindness that is cognitive can be damaging to ourselves and our relationships with those around us. Raymond Carver’s short story “Cathedral” portrays a perfect example of this. In this story, Raymond Carver uses point of view to help emphasize the narrator’s initial bias for those who are visually impaired and to better convey how his (the narrator’s) negative opinions are altered throughout the story. “Cathedral” is a short story about a blind man who goes to visit an old friend after the death of his wife. The story is told from the perspective of said friend’s husband, who has significant ‘cognitive blindness.’
The narrator had a hard time getting along with people and even so a blind person. When the blind man comes to their house, the narrator starts building a connection with him when the wife falls asleep. The connection started with cathedrals. The blind man had no idea
Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral”, is a short story told in the first person about a man meeting his wife’s blind friend. Aside from a few spare moments in which the narrator discusses what he knows of the pasts of his wife and her friend, Robert, this short story focuses mostly on the events of their meeting. In the grand scheme of things, this meeting between three regular people on some random day is ultimately unimportant, but to the people in question, especially the narrator, this meeting is incredibly significant. In the way his character develops over the course of as few as ten mundane pages, this story shows how ignorance isolates, and that making an effort to shed that ignorance can create meaningful connections with others.
This is where the epiphany starts to arise. Throughout the whole story, the author, Raymond Carver, gave an organizational structure of how the narrator’s views on the blind changed as the fiction progressed. He first viewed them as helpless beings. But once he heard the man’s wife died he felt pity for the blind man would have never known what she had looked like.
But he narrates what he knows and feels, he also afraid about his wife connection to the blind man. The narrator also shows that he has a difficult time understanding the difference between sight and understanding. The author uses different patterns when he writes, one that it's fascinating is the narrator almost never mention the names of Robert, for example in the line “This blind man, an old friend of my wife’s, he was on his way to spend the night” (p.86). The narrator calls him ‘The Blind Man’ as if he did not know his name, but he did.
The narrator’s eyes are closed and he is being led by a blind man, yet he is able to see. Carver never explains what it is the narrator sees, but there is the sense that he has found a connection and is no longer detached or isolated. The narrator is faced with a stark realization and glimmer of hope. Hope for new views, new life and probably even new identity. Even the narrator’s wife is surprised by the fact that her husband and Robert really get along together.
Carver highlights the narrator’s prejudice in the opening section of the story in order to reveal how the narrator’s bias against blind people in general leads to a preconceived negative opinion on Robert. From the outset, the narrator acknowledges his prejudice by mentioning that his “idea of blindness came from the movies. In the movies, the blind moved slowly and never laughed” (Carver, 1). The narrator’s negative prejudice is not caused by knowing a blind man; rather, it is derived from an external factor, demonstrating how the narrator has formulated an opinion on people he has never met. Consequently, the narrator assumes that Robert will conform to the negative stereotype present in his mind, and is unpleased about Robert’s visit.
In “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver, the narrator struggles with an internal conflict that involves him never being able to be in a vulnerable or sensitive state, especially when he is with his wife. The narrator creates suspense by having the reader wait until the end to realize what the blind man was referring to when he states, “From all you’ve said about him, I can only conclude—” (Carver 35). The reader can observe that the blind man was explaining that the husband was missing out on all aspects of life and the little things the world has to offer. The husband was so closed-minded, that he was missing out on having a deeper connection with his wife.
In his contemporary short story, “Cathedral,” Raymond Carver tells the story of an unnamed narrator, his wife, and an old friend, a blind man named Robert. Robert has come to visit the narrator’s wife, who is quite excited to see this man whom she hasn’t seen in ten years, yet the same can’t be said of the narrator who is noticeably and vocally uncomfortable about his visit. The story is told through the narrator’s first person point of view, showcasing his thoughts and the events that take place when Robert comes to visit. Carver highlights the theme of having the ability to see, but not truly seeing, through his use of colloquial language, and creation of relatable characters. “Cathedral” begins with the narrator informing the audience