Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral” is a short story that unfolds through the perspective of Bub. The story begins with the depiction of Bub’s narrow-mindedness and as the story progresses, it becomes clear that his perspective shifts after an encounter with his wife’s blind friend Robert. It’s through his encounter that he has an epiphany. His jealousy towards Robert and intoxication that debunk his preconceived notations and highlight the connection between him and Robert. Only, after his epiphany that he’s drawn out of his obliviousness and he gains insight.
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.
In "Cathedral," Raymond Carver explores the transformative power of human connection and the potential for understanding that emerges from genuine interaction. The story highlights the narrator's initial prejudice and discomfort towards the blind man, Robert, as a reflection of his narrow perception of the world. However, as the narrator and Robert engage in conversation and spend time together, a bond begins to form. This bond is exemplified in a pivotal moment when they draw a cathedral together, with the narrator's eyes closed and their hands intertwined. This shared experience allows the narrator to transcend his limited understanding and connect with Robert on a deeper level.
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
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.
In Raymond Carver’s Cathedral it takes you into the life of a man who is unable to see what life has to offer him and the life he so desperately seeks. He finds his significance through a blind man’s eye, who hes had judgemental thoughts about. The main themes of Cathedral are Delusion and Loneliness, both of which are faults of the narrator's character. In Cathedral, the main character discovers that letting go of his own negative outlook on the world is the most beneficial way in achieving happiness and finding help in that discovering could be from whom you least expect it from. The author uses imagery and narrated the story in first person point of view.
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.
The story “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver has several hidden meanings. It is a way of his writing, so the reader has to look deeper than the surface meaning to know everything that is happening in the story. One hidden feature of the story the reader could take is the husband did not see much more than the outer appearance of the wife. It was difficult for him to see past the outer attractions. His outer attraction love for his wife lead to poor affections for her and he pushed her away.
In Cathedral the main character we follow throughout the story is the narrator who is unnamed. As we know Carver likes to portray the average Joe in his stories and the narrator is one of them. He is just trying to get by and is flawed like any other human being. The narrator seems like an average grumpy husband who drinks and smokes marijuana. He begins the story being very narrow-minded and upset that his wife is bringing her blind friend Robert to stay with them.
In the short story Cathedral by Raymond Carver, the symbolism shown throughout is looking beneath the surface and empathizing with others because you do not know what they might be dealing with. The symbolism in Raymond Carver's Cathedral is mainly around having a true sight or a good outlook and not judging people. There is a sense of irony that comes with the symbolism of “Cathedral” due to the symbolic meaning of true sight and not judging people for their outward appearance or circumstances due to the antagonist being a blind man. Author Raymond Carver was born in the beautiful city of Clatskanie, Oregon, in the year 1938. He grew up and attended Chico State College, which is where he fell in love with literature and writing.
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.
“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.
"Cathedral" by Raymond Carver is a short story that follows an unnamed narrator and his experience with Robert, a blind man whom he was introduced to through his wife. At first, the narrator is not too fond of having a blind man at his house but allows it for the sake of his wife. Eventually, the narrator becomes more open with the audience and Robert, and in the end, they truly connect when Robert asks to draw a cathedral together. There are many times throughout the story when the narrator becomes more open and it is especially apparent in certain word choices. One instance is on page 34 of the book when the narrator offers Robert marijuana.
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 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. “Cathedral” begins with the narrator informing the audience
