First published in 1983 by Raymond Carver, “Cathedral” tells the story of a man, who in his ignorance, holds a prejudice towards a blind man who comes to visit in his home. While most of Carver’s short stories have hopeless plots, the ending in “Cathedral” is enlightening and optimistic. The plot is rather simple and upon first glance only tells a straightforward story. But once the reader takes a closer look, he sees the irony and meaning behind the simplistic story line. While the blind man has no physical vision, it is his heart that can “see” almost on spiritual levels. Through the drawing of the Cathedral with the blind man, the narrator, who has full physical vision, obtains spiritual vision in matters of love and purpose in life. Raymond …show more content…
His wife worked for the blind man, known as Robert, ten years ago. During the past ten years, the wife and Robert have been exchanging audiotapes. The narrator is baffled as to how the blind man and his wife have such a close relationship. He says, “I wasn’t enthusiastic about his visit. He was no one I knew. And his being blind bothered me. My idea of blindness came from the movies. In the movies, the blind moved slowly and never laughed” (James 494). When his wife asks him to listen to a tape that Robert had sent, the narrator reluctantly agrees and they sit down to listen. They are interrupted by a knock on the door but the narrator doesn’t seem to mind- “I’d heard all I wanted to” (James 495). The prejudice that the narrator shows towards the blind man shows his own transcendent blindness. Miwar Obaid notes that, ”The narrator is distant from his wife and seems very alone and negative. He is unsympathetic to his wife and the blind man” (6). When Robert arrives, the narrator is uncomfortable and finds himself …show more content…
When attempting to describe a cathedral to Robert, the narrator discovers he cannot describe the essence of it. His situation serves as an example of his life- there is no depth or purpose. Eventually, after ending up on the floor drawing a cathedral with Robert, he is able to comprehend the fullness in the drawing. With Robert’s hand guiding his own, the narrator comes to a “realization that there is more to life than an unrewarding job and marriage, self-imposed isolation and views predicted on third party sources instead of real life experience” (Caldwell 4). With his eyes closed, the narrator sees more as a blind man than he does with his eyes open. “But I had my eyes closed. I was in my house. I knew that. But I didn’t feel like I was inside anything” (James 504). Once the drawing is completed, the narrator feels a sense of freedom that he has never felt. Tracy Caldwell describes it as, “the real accomplishment was not in the product but rather in the process of creating” (4). This experience in the early morning hours transforms the narrator’s outlook on life. Prior to drawing a cathedral with Robert, he was blind to any purpose in his life. Obaid states, “the narrator lacks sight into the wonder of things, the potential for magnitude in
Carver provides an easy, visual outlook of the protagonist throughout the short story, which helps keep a better understanding during the simple yet intense experience. As the story continues, the protagonist enhances his mood as he aids Robert to visualizing a cathedral. This experience creates an impact on others because it is a great reason why one should never judge someone for something beyond their control. Also, helping someone, as Robert does for Bub, can be a life changing experience. Despite the blind man being physically blind, the husband is the one with the disability to see from someone else’s perspective.
The short story, “Cathedral,” by Raymond Carver, is about a blind man who changes the way the narrator views life by giving him some insight on how he sees things. The characters in this short story are constantly developing into better versions of themselves by sharing their insights with one another.
The narrator in Raymond Carver’s "Cathedral" is not a particularly sensitive man. I might describe him as self-centered, superficial, and egotistical. And while his actions certainly speak to these points, it is his misunderstanding of the people and the relationships presented to him in this story which show most clearly his tragic flaw: while Robert is physically blind, it is the narrator who cannot clearly see the world around him.
By becoming close with Robert, the man in this story experienced what was necessary to gain an understanding of what life is like for the blind. The man began to draw the cathedral to try and help Robert visualize what one looked like. What he didn't realize at the time was that Robert was helping him to visualize what blindness felt like. Bibliography: Carver, Raymond. "Cathedral".
“Cathedral,” a short story written by Raymond Carver, presents an intriguing story of an ignorant man 's lesson. During this story, Carver 's working class characters are crushed by broken marriages, financial issues, and fulfilling jobs, but they are frequently unable to understand or communicate their own sufferings. However, the main story consists of the narrator, known as “Bub,” facing an internal conflict about a blind man named Robert staying the night in his home. Regardless of the fact that this blind man is his wife 's long time friend, the narrator cannot find himself comfortable with such an idea because of his extreme prejudices. Although, despite the narrator’s conflict he finds himself connecting to Robert on a more personal
...l of open-mindedness. “Cathedral” concerns the change in one man’s understanding of himself and the world. From the start of the story the narrator is restricted in his understanding to accept the blind man just as his wife has. He cannot fully wrap around the idea of what makes Robert so special. Until, that is, that the narrator starts drawing the cathedral which starts off as a house almost, and expands into something grander. This short story allows us to realize that the world is greater and further detailed than what we consider it in our confined minds. And that in fact we should never assume that there is nothing more to what the eye can see. It simply states that we shouldn’t form an opinion on someone or something based only on what you see on the exterior, because usually after taking the time to explore, the person or thing will not be what you expected.
...ns up to new possibilities: "Never thought anything like this could happen in your lifetime, did you bub? Well, it's a strange life, we all know that"(P729). This quote shows the narrators limited view on life. By drawing the cathedral with Robert, the narrator's views are expanded and he experiences a revelation. The narrator realizes that he must let go of his insecurity and mental acts of jealousy.
... man that was trying to have an affair with his wife. Carver uses this story “Cathedral” to open the readers eyes and send the profound message of intolerance and ignorance and how one can be blind mentally not physically. The narrator is so hostile to the idea of a visit from Robert because he is blinded by jealousy, anger, and confusion.
The “Cathedral” (1983) by Raymond Carver takes place in a middle-class home in New York and is a story about a blind man, named Robert, visiting the nameless narrator and his wife. At first, the narrator does not like Robert, but as the night progresses the narrator starts to establish a liking towards Robert. The narrator, who can at times be seen as an antagonist, has many aspects that we as a human race have. For instance, the narrator has a displeasing attitude towards the unknown, has beliefs that are influenced by popular beliefs, and has a comedic behavior in difficult situations. The attitude, the beliefs, and the behavior of the narrator at times represent mankind thus playing a major role in allowing the short story to actually be
Once finished Robert tell Bub to look at the finished drawing. Instead of opening his eyes Bub decided keep his “eyes closed” ,because he “thought it was something I [he] ought to do”(Carver 46). Bub had an epiphany when drawing the cathedral with Robert, which lead to Bub learning to how to look at situations from other people's point of view. After his realization, Bub began looking at his present situation through the eyes of Robert. By keeping his eyes closed Bub demonstrates that he has learned to consider the point of view another person.
At first glance, one might assume Raymond Carver’s "Cathedral" illustrates the awakening of an insensitive and insulated husband to the world of a blind man. However, this literal awakening does not account for the fact that the husband awakens also to a world of religious insight, of which he has also been blind. The title and story structure are the first indicators of the importance of the religious thesis. It is also revealed when one examines the language and actions of the characters in the story. Finally, Carver’s previous and subsequent writings give an overall background for the argument that "Cathedral" has a significant religious import.
In Raymond Carver's "Cathedral," the husband's view of blind men is changed when he encounters his wife's long time friend, Robert. His narrow minded views and prejudice thoughts of one stereotype are altered by a single experience he has with Robert. The husband is changed when he thinks he personally sees the blind man's world. Somehow, the blind man breaks through all of the husband's jealousy, incompetence for discernment, and prejudgments in a single moment of understanding.
In the first paragraph, the narrator also reveals his ignorance. He believes that all blind people are based on only what he has seen in movies, "My idea of blindness came from the movies. In the movies, the blind moved slowly and never laughed. Sometimes they are led by seeing-eye dogs “(104). The narrator was surprised when he noticed Robert was not like this. The narrator is also surprised when Robert lights a cigarette. He believes blind people don’t smoke because “they couldn’t see the smoke they exhaled” (108). The husband starts to feel more comfortable after this. The three of them sit down for dinner and the husbands is impressed with the how Robert is able to locate his food, cut with a knife, and eat properly. This is where the narrator’s outlook starts to undergo change.
In the short story, Cathedral, by Raymond Carver, the author uses imagery, symbolism and narrates the story in first person point of view. The Cathedral’s main theme is being able to identify the difference between being able to look and/or see and it is portrayed through the main characters role in the story. Carver uses a unique style of writing which gives the short story a simple way for the reader to understand the story’s theme.
The husband's view on the world at the start of the story was a narrow one that was based on his ignorance, which prevented him from gaining understanding. His long held misconceptions, especially about blindness, defined his expectations about things he did not understand. For instance, when the husband found out that Robert was coming to stay, he disliked the idea of someone who was blind, let alone someone who he didn't know, coming to visit and the husband's "idea of blindness came from the movies." He saw the blind people as people who "moved slowly and never laughed." This was not the limit of his ignorance as it was further displayed by his constant referral of Robert as "the blind man" and his assumption of Robert's deceased wife being a black person based solely on the name of Beulah. This assumption display his bigotry is not limited to Robert's blindness and that differences that he did not understan...