Cathedral By Raymond Carver

The elements of fiction are the components that every story uses in some capacity. Some elements lend themselves to being more important in a story than others, but no matter what, all of them can be highlighted within a fictional work. Although all authors use the same elements, it is how authors choose to incorporate and display these factors, such as plot, point of view, and theme, that make stories different from one another. The way the plot is used can change how much a reader has to think about the events of a story. The way an author displays a theme can differentiate the reader's experience in reading, depending on the way the author chooses to portray it. Point of view changes a reader's perspective as they get to know one character

Each author and story create their plot version using the same sequence of events. The story “Cathedral”, by Raymond Carver, centers around the author's prejudice toward a blind man. The plot takes us through the narrator's change in mindset as he spends more time with the man. Each point of the plot is easily recognizable, as if Carver wanted the reader to follow along easily. The resolution is captured in the quote “My eyes are still closed”. I was in my house. I know that I know. But I didn’t feel like I was inside anything”. (Carver) The quote reflects the narrator's openness to a new perspective and comes at the end of the story. Another short story, “A Conversation with My Father”, written by Grace Paley, shows how authors can make plot and communication within storytelling more composite. The plot revolves around a father's desire for his daughter's creation of a perfect story. Each time the daughter brings a new story to the father, he says that it doesn't fulfill the full range of human emotions and the traditional style of life the father

Another story, “The House of Asterion” authored by Jorge Luis Borges, takes a different approach to the same point of view. Because the story is narrated by Asteropm himself, the readers gain insight into his lonely, depressing life. Asterion goes as far as to make a bold statement that “someday my redeemer will come”(Borges) meaning that one day a man will come to kill him, however, he will be happy that someone is visiting him and it doesn't matter the reason. The use of the first person allows us to understand Asterion as an individual and empathize with his isolation. While both stories use the same point of view, the authors work the perspective to get different responses out of the reader and to give insight into different aspects of people's lives. “Girl” gives perspective to the expectations of the daughter's life and “The House of Asterion” gives perspective to the loneliness of Asterion. As shown through the use of many different stories, the elements of fiction can be worked into stories to elicit different emotions, understandings, and conclusions in the