The Two Sides
The views we have are what shapes us, sometimes we have vast knowledge of ideas. Other times we are limited in what we can understand. We are given the choice of seeking out more of said idea or choosing to remain as is. Cathedral by Raymond Carver is a story that gives us a look into what it is like to have our views challenged through experiencing them first hand. We are introduced to the story by narration and we are given a brief summary of how his wife and the blind man had met from the narrrator. We learn that the blind man is named Robert, he is the only character that is named and described in the story. After the exchange of greetings and very detailed description of the dinner they all enjoyed Robert and the narrator then partake in the recreational use of marijuana, various views, and watching TV. A documentary on cathedrals comes on and Robert asks the main character to describe one. Unable to do so, Robert then asks if they could sketch a cathedral together leading up to the main character on a path of understanding. Carver gives a piece of himself to the main characters while also giving us insights on the experiences created by the characters around him. “It was like nothing else in my life up to now.” Carver (p.13) My eyes were still closed. I was in my house. I knew that. But I didn’t feel like I was inside anything. “it’s really something.” I said.” Carver (p.13)
The author’s main theme shows us how views can change and how this change can affect us in a profound way. For instance the main character is very uneasy about meeting Robert, he has never met anyone who is blind. The knowledge he has of blind people came from movie portrayals. “My Idea of blindness came from the movies… t...
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...ciety, and religious aspects. The blind man gave us understanding and is portrayed through various things like setting and the descriptions through. Each character had specific roles and they were played well
Works Cited
Brown, Arthur A. "Raymond Carver and Postmodern Humanism." Critique 12p 32.2 (90): P.125+. Web.
Clark, Robert C. "Keeping the Reader in the House: American Minimalism, Literary Impressionism, and Raymond Carver's "Cathedral."" Thesis. University of Georgia, 12. , Vol. 36 Issue 1, P104-118. 15p. 36.1 (1012): 104-18. Print.
Facknitz, Mark A.R. "'THE CALM,' 'A SMALL, GOOD THING,' AND 'CATHEDRAL': RAYMOND CARVER AND THE REDISCOVERY OF HUMAN WORTH." Studies in Short Fiction 23.3 (87): 287+. Web.
Lacayo, Richard. "Man of Constant Sorrow." Time Magazine 23 Nov. 2009: n. pag. Web. .
Raymond Carver’s short story “Cathedral” opens with a narrator whose wife has invited a blind friend to spend the night. The narrator depersonalizes the man right off the bat and repeatedly throughout the story by referring to him, not by name, but as “the blind man” (Carver 513). He admits that hi...
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.
Weele, Michael Vander. "Raymond Carver and the language of Desire." Short Story Criticism. Ed. Thomas Volteler. Detroit: Gale Publishing Inc., 1989. 36-41.
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.
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.
...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 limitations that were holding the narrator back were abolished through a process from which a blind man, in some sense, cured a physically healthy man. The blind man cured the narrator of these limitations, and opened him up to a whole world of new possibilities. Robert enabled the narrator to view the world in a whole new way, a way without the heavy weights of prejudice, jealousy, and insecurity holding him down. The blind man shows the narrator how to see.
The short story "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver is about a woman who has a blind friend who comes to visit her and her husband. Although the husband has, technically, normal vision he is in the beginning of this story the one who is "blind." Through the husband’s words and actions when he is dealing with Robert, the blind man, we can see that the husband does not "see" or understand what Robert’s blindness means or how it changes or does not change him as a human being. At first Robert makes the husband very uncomfortable, for the husband does not know what to say or do around the blind visitor. As the story progresses, we can see a change in the husband; he seems to be able to see Robert as a person and not just as a blind man.
In the beginning the narrator’s tone is derisive, as though he’s mocking Robert’s being blind. The narrator sees Robert as a nuisance, getting in the way of him and his wife, whose past relationships with Robert and other men seem to irritate the narrator. “My idea of blindness came from the movies. In the movies, the blind moved slowly and never laughed…A blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to,” (Carver 1). The narrator is inexperienced
In José Saramongo’s novel Blindness, he states, “I think we are blind, Blind but seeing, Blind people who can see, but do not see.” He explains that people think they can see, but they are truly blind because they are blind to certain ideas or matters that are essential. In Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, Ian McEwan’s Atonement, and Albert Camus’ The Stranger, characters’ blindness causes them to act irrationally, which often has fatal repercussions.
Caldwell, Tracey. "Raymond Carver's 'Cathedral'." Literary Contents in Short Stories (2006): 1-8. Literary Reference Center. Web. 5 Nov. 2010
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.
Raymond Carver uses strategic dialogue and point-of-view to illuminate the themes of his stories. After reading “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” and “ Cathedral” the reader is able to mend each piece of work together and understand how Carver creates his short stories.
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.
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.