Depression And Isolation In Cathedral And Edward Hopper's Cathedral

Raymond Carver’s short story “Cathedral” and Edward Hopper’s painting Sunday depict depression and isolation by showing in the painting a man sitting by himself creating a feeling of him being alone and in “Cathedral” in an internal way of the narrator not really seeing the beauty in the world. Raymond Carver is a previous alcoholic who adds in alcohol in his short stories such as “Cathedral”. Carver has the narrator always drinking, he mentions that in the house they have a bit of every kind of alcohol. Representing his feeling of being alone just like the man in Edward Hopper’s painting, Sunday. In the painting there is a man sitting on the curb smoking, he looks very depressed just like the narrator in the short story although he shows depression in many different ways. Raymond Carver and Edward Hopper together create a very mellow and depressed story along with painting, they are both very serious. In “Cathedral” Raymond Carver mentions many times, different ideas about alcohol possibly representing depression and feelings of isolation, “I did the drinks, three big splashes of Scotch with a splash of water in each. Then we made ourselves comfortable and talked about Robert’s travels,” (Carver 217). In the painting by Hopper, there is no alcohol but there is isolation, sorrow, and a

The short story and the painting are similar in many ways in which they are both depressed men who do not see the world very clearly, they show loneliness and isolation, they both show sorrow. Although they are also very different, the painting is a man who really is alone at the time. Carver’s short story has a man who does have people around him but he feels as if he