OUT and OUT
The buzz-saw snarled and rattled in the yard
And made dust and dropped stove-length sticks of wood,
Sweet-scented stuff when the breeze drew across it.
And from there those that lifted eyes could count
Five mountain ranges one behind the other
Under the sunset far into Vermont.
And the saw snarled and rattled, snarled and rattled,
As it ran light, or had to bear a load.
And nothing happened: day was all but done.
Call it a day, so they said
To please the boy by giving him the half hour
That a boy counts so much when saved from work.
His sister stood beside them in her apron
To tell them "Supper." At the word,
As to put the saw down to rest
As the saw knew what “supper” meant
The saw, leaped out at the boy's hand, or seemed to leap
He must have given it a flick of the hand. However it was,
The saw met its final lay at rest on the arm of the girl.
The boy's first outcry was a rueful laugh,
As his sister remained silent as if nothing was of big matters
As he froze in astonishment of what had just occurred,
Half in appeal, but half as if to keep
His sister’s life from spilling. Then the boy saw all
Since he was old enough to know, big boy
Doing a man's work, though a child at heart
He could not bear to see what the saw has done.
It was not his doing; but the saw,
Or was it him that caused this atrocity?
Why was he given the half hour?
Why couldn’t they let him work into the evening?
It was not his fault,
His sister screamed “supper” to him.
He saw all spoiled. "Don't them see who has done this
The doctor, when he comes. Don't let him, sister!"
Sister could not comprehend what has become of the boy,
But the raising was done, and the outcome was the boy.
What would happen to him?
Not his sister, but to him?
The doctor put him in the dark of ether.
All attention was to be given to the boy’s sister.
He cannot allow this to be his fault.
He lay and puffed his lips out with his breath.
He paced to and fro, thinking, thinking,
Of what to do, what to say now.
And then-the watcher of the girl’s pulse took fright.
No one believed. They listened at her heart.
Taller than the ancient pyramids in Egypt, large enough to hold the statue of liberty. 100 pounds of weightless stones, heavy enough to hold the Empire state building are the Great Cathedrals (PBS, 2011). Intrigued by the beauty in structure but puzzled by the very construction, without technology for building purposes has researchers mind wondering. In reference to the NOVA program, building of Gothic cathedral begin as a race of height, which over time this plan backfired because of the recent architectural discoveries in the foundation. The NOVA program pointed out that in this race of constructing the tallest building wasn’t the only concern between two rivalry cities in Europe; it purpose was recognized as a scared space for spiritual reasoning to bring ordinary someone closer to God (PBS, 2011).
Raymond Carver with “Cathedral” and “A&P” by John Updike are both short stories, even if in facts they are written during the same century, readers can interpret the changes that occurred to be really different. They both introduce characters that are being victim of stereotype by the protagonists, but somehow these characters made a great change into the protagonists’ view of the world and life itself. The stories differ in atmosphere and the quantity of people involve in each story which might be important to understand how changes occur. The audience can understand after analyzing these two stories that change is always possible and based on your action, a lesson is always to be learned the easy or the hard way.
The short story “Cathedral” has many aspects to the story that help develop the theme. Some elements are more obvious than others, but others may be small and have a grand underlying meaning. The main theme of “Cathedral” is sight. Putting the theme in less vague of terms, “seeing” something, or the big picture, involves a lot more than just looking at it with your eyes. The author uses the literary elements of characters, setting, plot, and symbolism to develop the theme of Cathedral by giving each element a big part or meaning to what the author is trying to get across to the reader.
“Cathedral” a short story by Raymond Carver shows how a visit from a blind man affects the lives of a married couple. The three main characters are the husband who is the narrator, the wife, and Robert. The husband is a close minded and cynical man who is upset because Robert is staying in his house because he does not know how to treat a blind man. The wife is a kind woman who has a closer relationship with Roberts than with her husband. Robert is a blind man who just lost her wife and is staying with his friend and her husband. In “Cathedral,” Raymond Carver uses symbolism to show the weakness and strengths of humans.
Carver’s the “Cathedral” to Hopper’s Ground Swell. The short story, “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver and the painting, Ground Swell by Edward Hopper, are similar in certain aspects, even though they take place in different settings. There is major conflict in each piece of art that creates confusion in the tone. The “Cathedral” is a first person story, but the narrator remains unnamed throughout the writing. This is a different point of view than the painting, which is first person, Ground Swell pictures individuals on a sailboat looking at a buoy floating in the ocean.
Raymond Carver utilizes his character of the husband, who is also the narrator, in his short story "Cathedral." From the beginning of the story the narrator has a negative personality. He lacks compassion, has a narrow mind, is detached emotionally from others, and is jealous of his wife's friendship with a blind man named Robert. He never connects with anyone emotionally until the end of this story.
“It was a large, beautiful room, rich and picturesque in the soft, dim light which the maid had turned low. She went and stood at an open window and looked out upon the deep tangle of the garden below. All the mystery and witchery of the night seemed to have gathered there amid the perfumes and the dusky and tortuous outlines of flowers and foliage. She was seeking herself and finding herself in just such sweet half-darkness which met her moods. But the voices were not soothing that came to her from the darkness and the sky above and the stars. They jeered and sounded mourning notes without promise, devoid even of hope. She turned back into the room and began to walk to and fro, down its whole length, without stopping, without resting. She carried in her hands a thin handkerchief, which she tore into ribbons, rolled into a ball, and flung from her. Once she stopped, and taking off her wedding ring, flung it upon the carpet. When she saw it lying there she stamped her heel upon it, striving to crush it. But her small boot heel did not make an indenture, not a mark upon the glittering circlet.
The short story of the “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver shows the narrator as the main character of the story whose name is never mentioned. The narrator’s wife’s name is never mentioned as well, and her friend who is a blind man is coming to visit after losing his wife whose name is Robert. In the beginning of the story, the narrator shows that he is an excessive drinker and feels emotionally disconnected from his wife and his wife is excited about her friends visit, Robert. This kind of emotion makes him uneasy but doesn’t know why and because he knows that Robert is blind, he feels like he is better than him. Imagine having to meet a long time old friend of your spouse of the opposite sex who they a special friendship with and whom you haven’t
Cathedral “I wasn’t enthusiastic about his visit. He was no one I knew. And his being blind bothered me” (99) the narrator tells us in Raymond Carver’s Cathedral. An old friend of the narrator’s wife, Robert, is coming to visit them at their home. The narrator is not at all pleased with this situation and let us know about it from the beginning.
You may think today “Hey, I totally wonder sometimes what the Middle Ages Churches and Gothic Medieval Cathedrals where like. What were they important for? Were they Churches like the ones today? How long did it take to build? “ Well that may be SOME of the questions you may have but you may have more. In this essay you're about to find out why the Medieval Gothic Cathedrals were so important for, and how much rule and and wide range of power they had over the people in the Middle Ages, and last but NOT least, the creative sublime (I’ll delete this comment later on if you see this but “sublime” is my own words not internet word) of the Gothic style windows of the Cathedral. First, the one I like most, the Gothic stain glass windows of the Gothic Cathedral. Stained glass is argued to an opinion or belief, one of the most important aspects of Gothic cathedrals. As its popularity rose, mainly during the mid 12th century, the increased existence of stained glass presented large changes to the way the general residents were learning about the religion. The windows became illuminated optic (“Optic” is my own wording) talk of biblical stories, which may have had an even greater impact than the spoken word of the priest. In this research paper, I will be primarily focusing on the stained glass windows and architectural styles employed in five Gothic buildings in France, each having their own unique and worthy attention and characteristics to the development of stained glass windows. By looking at the architectural improvements shown in these structures built during the Gothic time frame, we are able to see the impact all over the place to itch for increase...
The husband in Raymond Carvers “Cathedral” wasn’t enthusiastic about his wife’s old friend, whom was a blind man coming over to spend the night with them. His wife had kept in touch with the blind man since she worked for him in Seattle years ago. He didn’t know the blind man; he only heard tapes and stories about him. The man being blind bothered him, “My idea of blindness came from the movies. In the movies, the blind moved slowly and never laughed. Sometimes they were led by seeing-eye dogs. A blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to. (Carver 137)” The husband doesn’t suspect his ideas of blind people to be anything else. The husband is already judging what the blind man will be like without even getting to actually know him. It seems he has judged too soon as his ideas of the blind man change and he gets a better understanding of not only the blind man, but his self as well.
The story is about a blind man who visits a married couple. He is an old friend of the wife, but the husband does not look forward to see the blind man (called Robert) because he does not know what to expect. He has never known any blind persons and his picture of these is based on a very little foundation. He has a lot of prejudices against Robert, but during his visit he changes his opinion about him. While watching TV together they get each other to know better and the husband finds out that he actually likes his company. They watch a program about cathedrals and while talking about cathedrals, Robert says that he does not even know how a cathedral looks like. The husband tries to explain what a cathedral is and how it is built, but Robert does not understand it. Therefore he suggests that they can draw one together. In that way Robert gets a picture of a cathedral in his mind and even though it is not as good as seeing it with his own eyes, it is good enough to give him an idea of what a cathedral is.
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.
All over the world people still come to admire the beauty of European cathedrals. Many of the cathedrals are fragile due to age, neglect, pollution, and insufficient funds available to restore these historical and beautiful buildings. Nevertheless, visitors to these architectural masterpieces are fascinated by the design and structure of these churches. The cathedral builders using their own ingenuity, expertise, and limited resources were able to defy the laws of gravity and time. (Icher 30)
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high what's more, late medieval period. It developed from Romanesque structural planning and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture. Originating in 12th-century in France and lasting into the 16th century. Gothic cathedrals resulted from additions to a Romanesque church. The desire to enrich an earlier church was a strong motivation behind Gothic cathedral building. Numerous Romanesque holy places were crushed to clear a path for a cathedral in the new style. As a result, the majority of cathedrals in Europe are Gothic