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religious symbolism in cathedrals by robert carver
symbolism in carvers cathedral
symbolism in carvers cathedral
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At a glance Carver’s writing style of the “Cathedral” seems simple but after further interpretation of the story one realizes that the “Cathedral” is about the interactions and epiphanies that regular people have that changes their entire life. This idea is perfectly represented at the end of the “Cathedral”, throughout the story the husband knew nothing about blind people and wondered how can they live their life without being able to see. He continually made references to the effect of how can he be married and not be able to see his wife, if she had makeup purple slacks and so on he would never know. At the end of the story the husband became closer to the blind man through the drawing exercise and when he asked him to close his eyes so the husband was able to “see” things as the blind man saw them he realized that being blind wasn’t that bad it was just a different type of life style. Because Carver writes about simple commonplace situations this makes the story more affective to the average person. Topics such as loss and drug and alcohol use are things that almost everyone can relate to because it affects almost everyone’s life in one facet or another. Because this is the concentration of Carvers story it allows more people enjoy and relate to the stories; this also leaves the story for more personal interpretation. Each person has their own thoughts about drugs, alcohol and loss and because of these feeling the interpretation of the story is left up to the reader.
The husband was amazed at the blind mans ability to smoke a cigarette and eat food as well as he was able to. These are all commonplace objects and task that many people would believe that the blind would have trouble with, but this stereotype was quickly done away with once they began to eat and smoke.
Carver is defiantly an optimist, he believes in the ability for people to change and be more acceptable of people that are different, and disabled.
In the story "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver, the main character, goes through a major personal transformation. At the beginning of the story, his opinions of others are filled with stereotypes, discrimination and prejudice. Through interaction with his wife's blind friend Robert, his attitude and outlook on life changes. Although at first he seemed afraid to associate with a blind man, Robert's outgoing personality left him with virtually no choice. During Robert's visit, he proved to be a normal man, and showed the speaker that by closing his eyes, he could open his mind.
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.
The theme in the story of being able to see without sight is revealed through the characters in the story "Cathedral." The husband is very judgmental, self-centered and shows a lack of knowledge about blind people. This is obvious when he states, "My idea of blindness came from the movies. In the movies, the blind move slowly and never laugh (1152). The husband is so quick to judge and thinks he already knows everything about blind people and how they are, so he makes it clear he was not looking forward to the blind man being in his house ...
...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.
we are afraid of different thing in our lives, And one of them is is a fear of emptiness,so that makes people don’t feel the reality. And exactly like Bub ,Bub by being able to visualize he did not have the advantage to feel the true reality of anything in his life including himself.car is a good example,some people just see how a car look likes but other see what is beneath that massive piece of metal, and they are who enjoy the most out of a car because they truly understand how it works . so lets move on from cars and talk about Bub, from the begging Bub did not put hime self in Robert’s shoes to understand being blind is bad or good, he instantly thought about perspective of being blind in the movies ,as he said “his being blind bothered me. 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” (Carver 28) so thats a strong example of just visualizing rather than trying to understand the concept of being blind in grater depth . so when people are using this method to understand others around them they will start to fill the same thing about themselves too.which makes them to have a low self-esteem “My wife finally took her eyes off the blind man and looked at me. I had the feeling she didn't like what she saw. I shrugged” (Carver 31) someone say something like this about theme selves because they don’t know what they are capable of.when bub said “she did’t like what she saw.” (31) it was more like i did not like what i see in myself, because he thinks Robert is better than him and he cant be like Robert.this makes people weaker and weaker every day when they think this way about them selves.and then they want to forget about it beca...
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.
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 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.
I think there are may different themes in this short story. For instance, I think that prejudices is one of the main themes which is shown through the husband’s way of react, when he hears that a blind man is coming. Because he does not know what to expect, he imagines a man, totally different, who does not have the same habits or knows the same thing as “normal'; people.
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.
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.
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.
This story is about how the narrator is unable to see what life is really giving him and finds it through a blind man’s eyes, the friend of his wife. Cathedral is a touching story, in my opinion, as it reflects on what many of us, society, take for granted. It shows how important it is to give people a chance and to be able to see the true meaning of what surrounds us even if it is not important to our personal life. Throughout the short story, Carver uses several figurative language to expose the theme of the story.
The unnamed narrator of Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral” poses as an unreliable narrator for his unaccepting nature towards blind people along with his ignorant perception of many realities in his life that Carver presents for the reader to take into question. The narrator holds prejudice against Robert, a blind man whom the narrator’s wife worked with ten years earlier and eventually befriends. Unperceptive to many of the actualities in his own life, the narrator paints an inaccurate picture of Robert that he will soon find to be far from the truth.
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.