ipl-logo

Ignorance And Preconceptions In Raymond Carver's Cathedral

448 Words2 Pages

In Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral,” written in 1983, the author points out that empathy and perspective are the only way to truly experience profound emotion.The narrator is struggling is sucked into his own comfort zone, he drowns his dissatisfaction on life, marriage, and job in alcohol. A man of limited awareness breaks through his limitations by socializing with a blind man. Despite Roberts physical limitations, he is the one who saved narrator from himself and helped him to find the ones vies of the world. 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 …show more content…

A Cathedral is a place for people to go and worship, to connect with God. By drawing the Cathedral the narrator is in some ways also making a connection. For the first time, he appears to be able to see. The narrator's ignorance and preconceptions fade away because he sees that although Robert has the gift of knowing and understanding people. There is also a sense of irony at the end of the story. The narrator’s eyes are closed and he is being led by a blind man, yet he is able to see. Carver never explains what it is the narrator sees, but there is the sense that he has found a connection and is no longer detached or isolated. The narrator is faced with a stark realization and glimmer of hope.Hope for new views, new life and probably even new identity. Even the narrator’s wife is surprised by the fact that her husband and Robert really get along together.And this is an undoubtful argument that the narrator changed throat the story, Robert unconsciously succeeds in bringing new psychological and spiritual opening to

Show More
Related

Compare And Contrast Cathedral And A Good Man Is Hard To Find

1375 Words | 6 Pages

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).

Read More

Situational Irony In Cathedral By Raymond Carver

1217 Words | 5 Pages

Readers can appreciate the subtly placed examples of dramatic and situational irony throughout the works of Carver. Cathedral by Raymond Carver is the story about a blind man, Robert, who visits a husband and wife in their home. One would expect the husband

Read More

A Rose For Emily And Cathedral Analysis

1268 Words | 6 Pages

The narrator finally understands how Robert can love a woman or even just eat dinner being blind, since looking is not as important as he once thought. The townspeople were also just as wrong about Miss. Emily. When Emily dies, the townspeople are let into

Read More

Character Analysis Of Robert Neville In 'I Am Legend'

726 Words | 3 Pages

Robert being confined to his house during the night, fights the urge, brought through the constant struggle with himself and dealing with his past. This creates internal conflict as he realizes his past life is gone so he drinks to get around the pain. Slowly he gets surrounded by his past and it consumes his fight for survival. But, he realizes

Read More

Response To Raymond Carver's Cathedral

431 Words | 2 Pages

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.

Read More

The Narcissistic Narrator In Raymond Carver's Cathedral

910 Words | 4 Pages

“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.

Read More

Lack Of Love In Raymond Carver's Cathedral

371 Words | 2 Pages

In the short story “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver, the narrator makes it clear that salvation lies in human contact and connection. In the beginning of the story the narrator shows the lack of love in his relationship with his wife. When the narrators wife tells him about inviting a blind man over, he feels weird about it. The wife says “If you love me,you can do this for me, If you don't love me, okay”.(202) The narrator felt threatened by the man her wife was inviting over.

Read More

Prejudice In Raymond Carver's Cathedral

727 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More

Internal Conflict In Cathedral By Raymond Carver

1522 Words | 7 Pages

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.

Read More

The Cause Of Conflict In Raymond Carver's Cathedral

1358 Words | 6 Pages

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

Read More

The Theme Of Epiphany In Raymond Carver's Cathedral

860 Words | 4 Pages

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

Read More

Raymond Carver A Small Good Thing

1732 Words | 7 Pages

The short stories "Cathedral "and "A Small Good Thing" by Raymond Carver show the struggles of two American families and how the hardships brought new relationships and understanding to the families and those around them. " Cathedral" depicts the struggle to have a deeper connection not based on physical appearance. " A Small, Good Thing" shows the struggle to overcome the pain brought by the death of a loved one.

Read More

Raymond Carver Cathedral Summary

528 Words | 3 Pages

The narrator then proceeds to show Robert what a cathedral looks like by taking his hand and drawing a cathedral on “a shopping bag with onion skins in the the bottom of the bag.” (Carver 110) . Through this bricolage, the narrator closes his eyes and has an epiphany, for in this moment where his eyes are closed, hands intertwined, he truly sees, and “ ‘It’s really something,” (Carver 135). It’s the minimalistic approach that prefaces this big event that really showcases the theme. Carver’s use of colloquial language, in creation of an increasingly relatable scene allows for the reader to empathize with the narrator, allowing for a much stronger impact when the epiphany occurs and the story’s theme has been

Read More

Blindness And Ignorance In Raymond Carver's Cathedral

968 Words | 4 Pages

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.

Read More

The Epiphany In Raymond Carver's Cathedral

593 Words | 3 Pages

Robert helped the narrator see through his eyes. The narrator had the epiphany of seeing through a blind man's eye. At that point of the story, the narrator had completely changed his mind and did not judge

Read More

More about Ignorance And Preconceptions In Raymond Carver's Cathedral

Open Document