"Cathedral" is a short story by Raymond Carver that was first published in 1983. The story is about a narrator who is visited by his wife's friend, Robert, who is blind. The narrator is initially uncomfortable with Robert's visit and is uncertain about how to interact with him. Over the course of the story, however, the narrator and Robert begin to connect with each other, and the narrator begins to see the world in a new way.
As the two men spend time together, Robert teaches the narrator how to draw a cathedral using his hands as a guide. Through this experience, the narrator has a transformative moment and begins to see beyond his own limitations, experiencing the world in a new and meaningful way. The cathedral serves as a powerful symbol
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Through their interactions, the narrator and Robert are able to communicate and understand each other in ways that the narrator never thought possible. This highlights the idea that true communication and understanding are possible only when individuals are willing to put aside their assumptions and biases, and to open themselves to the perspectives of …show more content…
Carver uses plain, straightforward language to tell the story, which allows the themes and ideas to speak for themselves. This style is in line with Carver's larger literary project, which sought to strip away the clutter and artifice of traditional literary writing, and to focus instead on the essential elements of human experience. In "Cathedral," Carver employs a limited third-person point of view, with the narrator as the protagonist. This narrative perspective is particularly effective in allowing the reader to see the narrator's transformation from a skeptical and closed-minded individual to someone who is able to see the world in a new and deeper way. Additionally, the use of the limited third-person point of view allows Carver to maintain a level of distance from the narrator's thoughts and emotions, which enables him to focus on the themes and ideas of the story, rather than on the narrator's individual experiences.
The use of symbolism is also an important aspect of "Cathedral." The cathedral that the narrator and Robert draw together is a powerful symbol of the narrator's transformation and newfound understanding of the world. The cathedral represents a new way of seeing and experiencing the world, a symbol of the narrator's ability to move beyond his limited perspective and to see the world in a new and deeper way. The cathedral is not only a symbol of the narrator's transformation, but
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).
The narrator’s wife and Robert know each other at this point; Robert and the narrator are fairly unacquainted. However, because Robert, like the Christ, has an ability to gain the trust of the people around him, he is able to create a comfortable atmosphere even without
The author use of the title “Cathedral” was misleading at first. “Cathedral” is about a husband who had an interesting experience with his wife’s blind friend. The narrator, also known as the husband, had difficulty understanding other people thoughts and personal feelings. The narrator knew how important the blind man is to his wife, yet he still makes careless jokes about him. “Maybe I could take him bowling” was a comment made by the narrator after finding out that the blind man was staying over his house.
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.
The cathedral is depicted as a place of beauty and wonder, but also as a place of mystery and uncertainty. The narrator is drawn to the cathedral because of its grandeur, but he is also intimidated by it, and he is left feeling unsure of its meaning. This reflects the narrator's own struggles to understand his place in the world and to find personal
Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral” is a short story that unfolds through the perspective of Bub. The story begins with the depiction of Bub’s narrow-mindedness and as the story progresses, it becomes clear that his perspective shifts after an encounter with his wife’s blind friend Robert. It’s through his encounter that he has an epiphany. His jealousy towards Robert and intoxication that debunk his preconceived notations and highlight the connection between him and Robert. Only, after his epiphany that he’s drawn out of his obliviousness and he gains insight.
During their channel surfing, Roberts tells the narrator that he’s all right with watching whatever because, “...I’m always learning something. Learning never ends. It won’t hurt me to learn something tonight.” This line represents the entirety of their time together, Robert learning as he always does, and the narrator following his lead, getting to know and learn about Robert, who he was so uncertain about, as he does the same for him. As they learn about one another, they’re also learning about other things from the TV, consolidating what little miscellaneous knowledge they have about cathedrals and other things related to them (285).
From the beginning of the novel the narrator shows ignorance and prejudice towards Robert, he is fighting with his own of jealousy and insecurity. Being unhappy with his own life, the narrator sees Robert as a possible threat to his usual evening with pot and TV, without realizing that in order to be satisfied he should step out of his habitual
He longs for some sort of communication because he states, “Every night I smoked dope and stayed up as long as I could before I fell asleep. My wife and I hardly ever went to bed at the same time,”(Carver 34). The man may have started smoking weed, along with his heavy drinking, as a way to cope with his longing for communication from his wife. It is Robert who eventually shows the husband some form of communication and helps him to overcome his conflict with openmindedness and self-awareness. After the wife falls asleep, Robert and the man share conversations about what was showing on the tv.
In the story, the narrator’s narrow mindset is challenged over and over again as Robert breaks most stereotypes that the narrator held. As these stereotypes are broken, the narrator begins to feel more comfortable with Robert, and sincerely tells him that he is “glad for the company”. This release from prejudice culminates in the cathedral drawing scene of the story, where the narrator finally lets go of his bias towards blind people. Once the narrator closes his eyes, he is seemingly equal to Robert, and he consequently begins to understand Robert’s perspective. His newfound empathy towards Robert demonstrates how he has lost his prejudice towards him.
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.
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
Narrated in the first person, Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral” is bound to unfold due to the thoughts and feelings of one of the main characters, the husband. Expectedly, the conflict revolves around him and the way he responds to the conflict leads
He takes note of the simple things, like the awkward silence at dinner, where “we ate everything there was to eat on the table,” (Carver 45), and how they “got up from the table and left the dirty plates,” (Carver 45). Nothing too exciting happens, aside the narrator, when he “asked if he wanted to smoke some dope with me,” (Carver 55). Carver creates a very relatable story that mainly showcases ordinary people doing ordinary things. Although seeming to be anticlimactic for the majority of the story, these dull moments lead to a very important event. Robert and the narrator sit on the couch after the wife has fallen asleep, watching TV, when a documentary about cathedrals comes on.