The Use Of Drugs In Raymond Carver's Cathedral

Cathedral”, written by Raymond Carver is a short story that emphasized the use of drugs. “Sonny’s Blues”, written by James Baldwin is a short story that devalued the use of drugs. Without the drugs in “Cathedral”, the narrator and Robert would have never been able to communicate, the picture would have never been drawn, and the narrator would have never understood the blind man. However, in “Sonny’s Blues”, Sonny does not need drugs to communicate, to play the piano, and to understand who he is. Carver and Baldwin explore the use of drugs differently in regard to personal communication, artistic expression, and self actualization. In Baldwin’s piece, Sonny does not need heroin for him to communicate. Sonny has had a difficult life since childhood and he is consumed of anger, resentment, and hostility. Sonny is able to communicate to his brother, which is shown in the letter that he sends his brother from jail in the beginning of the short story. Sonny has been in jail for a great amount of time, so we know that there is no way that he had access to drugs. This letter was written soberly. Although Sonny’s brother did not understand him, Sonny never really stopped trying to get his point across to his brother. Sonny just wanted his brother to

In “Sonny’s Blues” Sonny does not need drugs to communicate, to perform his music, or even to know himself. Sonny can operate the best without drugs and he does not need drugs to enhance his actions. On the other hand, in “Cathedral”, the narrator needed drugs to communicate, to draw, and to feel secure. In generations today, we are like the narrator in “Cathedral”. Young kids want to have fun by participating in dangerous activity such as drugs and alcohol. The world needs to come to a sober point and learn how to cope with things seeing the light at the end of the