Morgan Pesante Professor Katherin Nolte English 2326 17 December 2013 Raymond Carver: Cathedral 1. In “Feather’s,” the somewhat silent and solemn dinner the two couples share impacts Jack and Fran’s lives, as that night transpires into an attempted “change” within their marriage. While Fran pinpoints that evening as an immediate shift, Jack believes the change came later, after their child was born. Jack recalls, “The change came later—and when it came, it was like something that happened to other people, not something that could have happened to us” (Carver). Throughout the dinner, the author parallels Jack and Fran to Bud and Olla. Together, Bud and Olla exhibit characteristics that Jack and Fran’s relationship lacks: love, affection and the family they have created with Joey and Harold. Jack and Fran strive for this type of bond, and although they attempt to achieve it after being given a glimpse at the dinner, they fall short. As much as Jack and Fran want to aspire to be like Bud and Olla, they never reach that next level. They are never able to utilize the peacock feathers. 2. The ending of “A Small, Good Thing” results in Ann, Howard and the baker sitting together, eating and listening to the baker’s life story. Although Ann and Howard come into the bakery with fury, the baker opens up to them because he sees how much they are suffering from the loss of their son, Scotty. Ann is “suddenly hungry” not only because she has physical hunger, but also because she is aching for emotional connection after the loss of her son. The baker may not be able to understand their individual pain, but by revealing his own agony he is allowing Ann and Howard to begin to process their sufferings as well. It didn’t heal them, but his small g... ... middle of paper ... ... of “Cathedral,” it becomes apparent that the narrator’s affection for the blind man has positively shifted as they sit down and begin to draw the cathedral together. After a failed attempt to explain what a cathedral is to the blind man, the narrator is surprised at the encouragement Robert gives. Robert asks the narrator to close his eyes, to ultimately trust him, and the narrator listens. “My eyes were still closed. I was in my house. I knew that. But I didn’t feel like I was inside anything,” the narrator stated (Carver). This text suggests that the narrator was not necessarily concerned about what he was drawing, but on the feeling he was experiencing during that moment. The narrator is no longer isolated, but open to a new freedom (Esch). This freedom is beyond what is visible – and Robert, the blind man, reiterates this by his presence and lack of sight.
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.
...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.
The narrator in Raymond Carver's "Cathedral" has two fully functional eyes, in which he chooses never to use to their full potential. The eyes of the narrator are biased, insecure, jealous, and very limited in what they choose to see. This inability to see is made apparent when he is forced to meet and converse with a blind man. The narrator's perception of the world around him, and blurred vision, is resolved by a great irony in the story when Roger helps the narrator see past his prejudice outlook on life. The blind man teaches the narrator how to see.
...thedral together, so the husband got paper bag and a pen to draw on. They began drawing and after a few minutes, the blind man asked the husband to close his eyes and keep drawing. The husband felt different than he’d ever felt in his life. He kept his eyes closed when the blind man told him to open them and look, the husband replied, “It’s really something. (Carver 147)” The husband never thought he would have the experience he did with the blind man, as they basically became friends. The husband’s view of a blind person had changed. He saw life from a blind man’s perspective and actually appreciated it. Never judge a book by its cover, as you have no idea what may be inside of it.
A formalist perspective focuses on important elements to a story like plot, theme, symbol, characterization, and metaphor. “A Small, Good Thing” is an interesting story that you can understand the main points, but goes into more detail when analyzed. This story has an important plot, theme, and symbols behind it that actually make the story what it is. The author Raymond Carver exposes the reader to feel connected with the story because it can relate to all of our lives.
One incident, for example, is when Claudia, Frieda, Pecola, and Maureen Peal, a well-loved “beauty” of Lorain, are walking home from school. As the girls saunter down the street, they begin to bicker. The conversation ends with Maureen stomping away and establishing the fact that she is indeed “cute”. Claudia then thinks to herself, “If she was cute--and if anything could be believed, she was--then we were not. And what did that mean? We were lesser. Nicer, brighter, but still lesser. Dolls we could destroy, but we could not destroy the honey voices of parents and aunts, the obedience in the eyes of our peers, the slippery light in the eyes of our teachers when they encouraged the Maureen Peals of the world. What was the secret? What did we lack? Why was it important? And so what?. . . And all the time we knew that Maureen Peal was not the Enemy and not worthy of such intense hatred.
In Raymond Carver’s story “Cathedral” the narrator learns what it means to “see” through someone who cannot. To see is to be able to view the things around us while putting aside preconceived notions or fear about these objects or people. In order for this to occur once must overcome what they feel is out of the ordinary and learn to accept things as they are. At first the narrator is doesn’t accept the man and uncomfortable around Robert. The narrator soon comes to understand this when he puts aside his fears, and judgments that he can see more than what meets the eye, and the freedom that comes along with this seeing.
When Frankie(Frances) got to their home they were amazed. It looks so beautiful, an open field, trees, and a big house. What’s not to love! But, they still missed mom. They later had a feast with the neibours and when they were cleaning up, Frances(Frankie), almost got caught. She was washing the dishes very good and a woman said “I have never seen a male do a woman’s job so well!” She(He) responded “I say it doesn’t matter the gender, as long as it’s done right.” That lady then said Frances is a soft boy to someone else and smiled. He(She) had to be more careful. A few
Constantly throughout the short story, Robert defies the narrator’s original portrayal of what he believes is a stereotypical blind man. “He also had a full beard. But he didn’t use a cane and he didn’t wear dark glasses. I’d always thought dark glasses were a must for the blind” (Carver 36). Robert also starts to change the narrator’s perception of blind people not only physically but emotionally. In an act of thoughtful accommodation, the narrator begins to describe to Robert the cathedrals on the television when the speaker of the program halts the commentary. Robert starts to slightly and gradually change the perspective that the narrator sees blind people from until the conclusion of the story when Robert shines a light on the
Prior to the narrator drawing the cathedral, his reality is straightforward: he can see, and Robert can't. Be that as it may, when he endeavors to depict the cathedral that is appeared on TV, he understands he doesn't have the words to do as such. More imperative, he chooses that the reason he can't find those words is that the cathedral has no importance or meaning to him and discloses to Robert that he doesn't put stock in anything. Be that as it may, when he sets aside the opportunity to draw the cathedral—to truly consider it and see it in his inner being's—he gets himself pulled in, adding points of interest and individuals to make the photo finish and not withstanding drawing some of it with his eyes shut. At the point when the illustration is done, the narrator keeps his eyes close, yet what he sees is more noteworthy than anything he's at any point seen with his eyes open. Carver isn't particular about precisely what the narrator acknowledges, however the narrator says he "didn't feel like he was inside anything"— he has a weightless, place less feeling that recommends he's achieved an epiphany. Similarly as a cathedral offers a place for the religious to love and discover comfort, the narrator's illustration of a cathedral has opened an entryway for him into a more profound place in his own particular world, where he
The story “Cathedral,” by Raymond Carver is a story of two men, whose ability to see things were completely different from one another, but something had united them at the end of the story which is why it is so fascinating. The narrator, who doesn’t have the name, is confronted by a visitor in his house when his wife invites a blind man, named Robert, to come over to their house. The narrator assumes that he’s superior to Robert when he arrives. Why not? He was able to see things physically but Robert wasn’t. Robert, however, has an ability to see things at a deeper level. He may be physically blind, but later on, it turn out to be that the narrator was the one who is actually blind. The Cathedral is drawn by the narrator and Robert, and it
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.
Mr. James Duffy is a lonely man who is not incredibly fond of the Dublin suburbs. He lives in an old, dismal, threadbare house with a black iron bedstead, an iron washstand, some chairs, a coal-scuttle, a square table, and a fender and irons. Compared to a blissful home of the present day, one may suppose that someone presently died in Mr. Duffy’s house. One day, he was sitting at a Rotunda, next to a lady, Mrs. Sinica, and her spawn. That one meeting would be the launch of something fresh for the both of them. Mrs. Sinica would either meet Mr. Duffy at the park gate, or somewhere in town, or she’d bid him over to her house. Mr. Sinica encouraged his visitations, thinking that Mr. Duffy was after his daughter’s hand in holy matrimony. All of the instances he spent with her influenced his life, and he started to live somewhat different than previously. During one of the meetings, Mrs. Sinica got slightly frisky, and Mr. Duffy left and has no communiqué with her for a week. He eventually requested her to meet up with him at a cake shop where they strolled around for some hours conversing. A few days after the two arranged to sever their interaction, he obtained his music and books from Mrs. Sinica. Several years passed, and Mr. Duffy never heard from Mrs. Sinica again. He wrote more seldom than before, and kept away from the concerts for fear that he would see her. One late afternoon, as he was analyzing a newspaper editorial, he observed an article about the “DEATH OF A LADY AT SYNDEY PARADE” and forced himself to continue. Once he read the subsection, and realized that the deceased woman was his old companion, something arose in his stomach that didn’t seem familiar to him. He deemed strongly that she had not only degraded herself, but him as well. With this in mind, he came to a public-house for some hot punch, and entered the park gate and strolled under some emaciated trees, and desolate valleys, as the two had done four years earlier.
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.
Overall, the cathedral that the narrator draws with Robert represents true sight, the ability to see beyond the surface to the true meaning that lies within. The husband’s insecurities makes him emotionally blind. His inability to see past Robert’s disability ultimately prevents him from seeing the reality of any relationship or person in the story. The husband becomes more sensitive and accepts the moment of being blind has allowed him to become a better man. Finally, the cathedral drawing ironically reveals blindness to be an important factor. As a result, Carver gives interesting lessons to powerfully assess how we can find beauty and free ourselves from prejudgments and see the real world with our minds, not only our eyes.