The Theme Of Epiphany In Raymond Carver's Cathedral

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.

The different uses of point of view in a short story can influence how the reader interprets the text. For example, the short story "Cathedral" incorporates the use of first person. First person point of view is when a narrator conveys an experience from their perspective. By choosing to use first person narrative, the author allows the reader to gain a concise understanding of how the narrator is thinking and feeling. First person narrative is often used because it allows the reader to better understand the context of the text and the story becomes more intimate for the reader. On the other hand, the short story, "The Lady with the Dog" integrates the use of third person limited narrative. Third person limited narrative is used when authors only want the reader to know the thoughts and feelings of a specific character. With third person limited narrative, the narrator is not a character within in the story. This form of narrative presents minimal thoughts of one character while the rest of the characters are presented independently. Ultimately, "Cathedral" and "The Lady with the Dog" use different points of view, however, they are still capable of influencing how to reader perceives each text.

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. 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

An old friend of the narrator "Robert,'' is the blind man in the story. When the sighted man tries to explain what a cathedral is like to the blind man, his words fail. One man relies on vision to communicate, the other does not. It was like they spoke different languages. At the end of the story when the narrator says "My eyes were still closed. I was in my house. But I didn't feel like I was inside anything"? he means that he could somewhat see what the blind man felt like. Although he was at home he did not feel as if he were because he couldn't see anything with closed eyes. But the narrator noticed the beauty and he felt relieved. At the end of the story the narrator had his hands closed drawing a cathedral. Everything Robert could do

“Cathedral” published in 1983 by Raymond Carver talks about a husband’s change of attitude. I went into detail on the husband’s character changing throughout the story by describing his behavior and actions and focusing on the husband’s comments towards Robert. I also talked about how Robert and the wife do not go into detail talking about the husband because Raymond Carver wants you to fill in the blanks on what you think the husband’s personality is. The husband’s character is easier to understand after he has a couple drinks and is faced with Robert one on one while watching a documentary series on Cathedrals.

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 turning point for the man was when the blind man made him close his eye as they were drawing the Cathedral. The man finally saw what the blind man saw and it changed his whole outlook on life.

Robert Emerson said, "People only see what they are prepared to see." This quote explains how people only see stereotypes. They judge others from the stereotype of society. That is exactly what "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver portrays: The idea that different aspects in life are not what they seem to be. The information in the media limited the narrator from truly “seeing” Robert.

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. "He was no one I knew. And his being blind bothered me. 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." Soon enough, the narrator would come to look at being blind in a much different way and even come to realize that he himself is being blind.

“His being blind bothered me” (Carver 1). In Raymond Carver’s short story Cathedral, Carver establishes an ignorant narrator, who is dependent on alcohol and fixated upon physical appearance; he juxtaposes the narrator to a blind man who sees with his heart rather than his eyes. Through indirect characterization, Carver contrasts the narcissistic narrator to the intuitive blind man while utilizing sight as a symbol of emotional understanding. He establishes the difference between looking and seeing to prove that sight is more than physical.

The third example is “Next to writing a poem every year, I think it was her chief means of recreation this is the so much important for this relationship and try to think who can write a poem for every year. we can’t get her view also in this story the narrator out of control he use the first person perspective to describe the story but we can definitely assume that this method of communication is vital to her well-being and this quote also indicate that the recreation between Robert and the woman rather than optional recreational activities which mean the woman wants to keep this relationship with the blind man.

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. His wife’s friend, Robert, is physically blind. Though, I declare the narrator to be the one who cannot clearly

Intoxicants can have a vast impact on human behavior, whether they are legal or illegal substances. People consuming intoxicants can be observed in music, movies, TV shows, or even literature. In “Cathedral,” the characters consume both alcohol and marijuana. As one reads the story, he or she can observe the effects these substances have on the characters in “Cathedral.” One character in particular, the narrator, can be observed to have been affected by the substances. In the beginning of the story, he is openly against the blind man, but as the story progresses, his attitude appears to change after he consumes the intoxicants. The narrator in “Cathedral” is biased against

Raymond Carver is said to be one the most influential American writers and poets in the 20th century, especially in his works of short stories. One of his most famous pieces is “Cathedral.” This well-known short story is the final piece in Carver’s collection Cathedral published in 1983. Carver includes much symbolism through the story’s plot, structure, point of view, tone, and character build. The depictions of each character’s experiences, the irony in the story, and hearing the narrator’s point of view in “Cathedral” work in harmony to support its themes that prejudice and ignorance as well as the nature of reality are present and change throughout the course of the story, and all lead to a strong character development by the close.

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. 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. However, the focal point within the story occurs when the narrator gets to have a vulnerable moment with the blind man that he has never encountered before, and it makes him feel liberated.

“Cathedral” is a short and warm story written by Raymond Carver. The author portrays the story in the first person narrative. Carver presents the interaction between an unnamed couple and a blind man by the name of Robert, who is visiting them. The story is told by the husband, the narrator, who is a prejudiced, jealous, and insecure man with very limited awareness of blindness. This theme is exposed through Carver’s description of the actions of the narrator whose lack of knowledge by stereotyping a blind man. However, the story takes an unpredicted and meaningful turn at the end when the narrator see things from a blind man’s standpoint.