The book Cathedral by Raymond Carver and The Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison have many similarities that make them unique because of the individuals living in similar homes with similar problems. Raymond and Dorothy both wrote about individuals either having a tough time or a good time, but soon turning to tragedy. These books speak a lot about the individual and how they overcome the problem that is set before them and how their house either helps them in their problem or not. It also shows which character the male or female is more determined to keep the relationship alive and burning. In Cathedral, the individual either man or woman always has a problem set in front them and it always seems to be about the man and it also …show more content…
The male characters in this book drink, gamble, but only one of them is a rapist and unambitious man. The other men drink, which are Bone 's uncles, but they are better off than the one who is unambitious, Glen. The women in this book are well off because they are strong Boatwright women except for Bone 's mom who lets bad things happen to her child. Bone is the main character in this story and her life is filled with questions until the very end. She has to put up with a abusive step-dad, Glen, and a mother who knows what is going on and letting it get out of control. The aunts in Bone 's family are strong women who have seen and know what is happening to Bone. In this the book the women are strong and carry their problems. Bone carries her secret about Glen abusing her and raping her to herself until one of her Aunts finds her in the bathroom passed out with blood stains on her panty. In this story the house is not a safe place for Bone because of Glen. The home in this situation does help when Bone is staying with her aunts instead of being home with Glen. This book by Allison and the short stories by Carver are tied together in some way or form because they take a specific individual and put a problem that they have to deal with at …show more content…
The short stories Feathers, Fever, and the poem "Kitchen" combined with the novel Bastard Out of Carolina show relationships by bringing the man and the woman into a situation that is fixable if you have the strength and patience to put up with it till the end. An example that can be seen in Bastard Out of Carolina is Bone is in an unhappy home where she does not know who to trust or turn to. Her mother leaves her for Glen, her abuser . The only hope that is brought forward is Aunt Raylene taking Bone under her care while her mother leaves her. This is shown in Feathers, Fever, "Kitchen" because they all involve a man and woman being happy until one of them leaves or gives up hope. In Feathers Jack and Fran are a happy couple who loves being together and has no thoughts of kids until one evening at a friend 's house. In the last closing paragraphs of the story, Jack and Fran have a child, which just makes their relationship collapse. In Fever, Carlyle is an artist who is left with the kids when his wife leaves him for another man. The woman does not play much of a role in this story which is interesting because Carlyle is a man who is trying to keep his life in together by handling the kids and finding a good babysitter while he goes to work. His home is falling apart because he has to do everything by himself. In
“Winter lies too long in country towns; hangs on until it is stale and shabby, old and sullen” (“Brainy Quotes” 1). In Edith Wharton’s framed novel, Ethan Frome, the main protagonist encounters “lost opportunity, failed romance, and disappointed dreams” with a regretful ending (Lilburn 1). Ethan Frome lives in the isolated fictional town of Starkfield, Massachusetts with his irritable spouse, Zenobia Frome. Ever since marriage, Zenobia, also referred to as Zeena, revolves around her illness. Furthermore, she is prone to silence, rage, and querulously shouting. Ethan has dreams of leaving Starkfield and selling his plantation, however he views caring for his wife as a duty and main priority. One day, Zeena’s cousin, Mattie Silver, comes to assist the Frome’s with their daily tasks. Immediately, Mattie’s attractive and youthful energy resuscitates Ethan’s outlook on life. She brings a light to Starkfield and instantaneously steals Ethan’s heart; although, Ethan’s quiet demeanor and lack of expression causing his affection to be surreptitious. As Zeena’s health worsens, she becomes fearful and wishes to seek advice from a doctor in a town called Bettsbridge giving Ethan and Mattie privacy for one night. Unfortunately, the night turns out to be a disastrous and uncomfortable evening. Neither Ethan nor Mattie speaks a word regarding their love for one another. Additionally, during their dinner, the pet cat leaps on the table and sends a pickle dish straight to the floor crashing into pieces. To make matters worse, the pickle dish is a favored wedding gift that is cherished by Zeena. Later, Zeena discovers it is broken and it sends her anger over the edge. Furious, Zeena demands for a more efficient “hired girl” to complete the tasks ar...
Upon reading Raymond Carver's short story of the Cathedral one will notice the literary devices used in the short story. When analyzing the story completely, one then understands the themes, motifs, metaphors, and the overall point of the piece. This leaves the reader with an appreciation of the story and a feeling of complete satisfaction.
...nd optimistic" (Watson 114). The few critics who have written specifically about "Cathedral" tend concentrate on that optimism, seen at the end of the story with the narrator’s "esthetic experience [and] realization" (Robinson 35). In concentrating on the final "realization" experienced by the narrator, the literary community has overlooked his deep-rooted misunderstanding of everything consequential in life.
Don’t judge a book by its cover. We have all heard this cliché at least once in our lifetime. But how many times have we ever followed through with this expression? The author Raymond Carver writes about an experience where a couple is visited by the wife’s acquaintance Robert, whose wife has recently passed. The fact that Robert is blind belittles him in the eyes of the narrator, causing tension and misjudgment. In “Cathedral”, Carver uses irony, point of view, and symbolism to show the difference between looking and truly seeing.
...’s father, Jack can be looked at and compared through the psychoanalytic lens in the way they both behaved at the deaths of Hannah and Susie. The first kisses of Susie Salmon and Hannah Baker, Ray Singh and Justin Foley can also be compared in the way they both acted and reacted to the deaths of the girls that they shared an intimate moment with. Life in unfair, and the two poor girls who die at a young age in the two novels learned that the hardest way possible.
In the second story, “Two Kinds”, we get a glimpse into the author’s childhood. She grew up in a home with high expectations. Her mother expected her to be perfect, a prodigy. Before moving to America, she’d lost most of her family, as well as her twin daughters, but she moved on, with the hope that things would get better. She pushed all of
Adultery, lying, underage drinking, mistrust, and murder are common transgressions in these three pieces of literature. These all serve a different purpose in the stories to symbolize something or prove a point. Overall, in these three stories/poems, the impact affects the characters
“Cathedral” consists of three individuals. The narrator is the main character, which the story revolves around. The wife of the narrator is the second character, who is the least relevant. The third character is the blind man, named Robert, who is a friend of the wife.
She discusses her desire to escape her forlorn reality in the means of using her journal but is obligated to abandon her thoughts and ideas to view her husbands as superior. Her journal was the only object that gave her comfort and a feeling of individuality but both her husband and caretaker forbid her to use. As shown by her defensive language about her journal she says "...no person touches this paper but me..."(Gilman 97) The other stories incorporate how men's societal expectations affected women's roles in and outside of the house. She uses her journal as a means to escape her reality and environment where fo so long she has felt oppressed and trapped due to her husband’s extreme and harsh control over her. The narrator furthers this view about men superiority with how her husband treats her, "Then he took me in his arms and called me a blessed little goose..." (Gilman 93). This quote not only shows how men were led to believe that women were incapable of intellect and depth, but how women actually thought they were less than
The happenings described in Cathedral a story by Raymond Carver on one night, however we have a tendency to see a range of transformations. Bub the narrator of Cathedral smokes marijuana and drinks lots of scotch. Bub can get complete unpleasant when he's jealous. By the end of the story, all the characters can experience dramatic change, and even different vision. Cathedral explores chance of positive transformation through productive message.
“Cathedral”, written by Raymond Carver and “A Pair of Tickets” written by Amy Tan are two stories very different from each other. They share only a few similarities. The main similarity in the two stories is the plot. In the two stories, they are both meeting someone important for the first time. Although the plot is the same in both stories, the characters in Cathedral and A Pair of Tickets are very different from each other.
In the story "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver, it tells of how a blind man is open to new experiences and how he views the world compared to the husband (narrator) who is blinded by the material things of life. The husband is given the gift of sight but the true gift comes from seeing the cathedral. At the beginning of the story, the husband’s outlook on others is filled with stereotypes, discrimination, insecurities and prejudice. After interacting with Robert, his wife's friend, his outlook begins to change significantly.
People always judge others without knowing them or meeting them and this is the exactly what the narrator did in Cathedral by Raymond Carver. In the beginning of the story you see the hatred that the narrator has for his wife’s friend Robert, who is a blind man that comes to stay with him for a short period of type. The Narrators knowledge on the blind community plays a huge role in his attitude toward Robert in the beginning. Throughout the story you gradually see a change in the narrator’s mood toward Robert. Beginning the story the narrators conviction was that he was going to be a simply clean man who wore big black glasses, used a walking stick and would come off very awkwardly, anything he knew came from films. Over a course of the story the narrator gains knowledge and experience with a blind person he changes.
While reading short stories, two stood out: Ernest Hemingway’s Hills Like White Elephants and Raymond Carver’s Cathedral. The themes in both stories are powerful and convey strong messages that really pose existential thoughts. Not only is each story’s theme attention grabbing, but so is the common and reoccurring use of symbolism throughout the stories. They did not just use the Element of Fiction symbolism, but even used one common symbol. Ernest Hemingway’s story Hills Like White Elephants and Raymond Carver’s story Cathedral each contain existential and similar themes such as talking versus communicating and looking versus seeing, as well as demonstrating creative and comparable symbolism throughout.
Raymond Carver's "Cathedral" depicted the interaction between a narrow minded husband, with a limited understanding of the world around him, and a blind visitor, named Robert, that proved to be the catalyst that dramatically changed the husband's view on the world, while they went from being strangers to becoming friends. In the beginning of the story, the husband disliked the concept of his wife bringing her blind friend over to stay since he never had met a blind person before and did not understand it. However, as the story progresses, the husband, through interaction and observation, begins to dispel his fears and misconceptions of Robert and his blindness. With the help of Robert, the husband gains a revelation that changed his view and opened his eyes to the world.