...Blindness may reveal itself in many ways. It can arise from more than just physical loss of sight. When people are blind about feelings of others is the most damaging condition. The “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver is about two men, one of them is physically blind and the other is psychologically. The narrator is ignorant and detached from people around him. Although the narrator has a narrow-minded point of view and suffers from metaphorical social and emotional blindness, he ends up with transformed opinion after a discovery of the literally blind man's immense and unique wealth of wisdom. At first, the narrator appears as socially isolated. He does not have the ability to convey his feelings. Through the story, he always refuses to demonstrate his opinion: “I didn’t answer”, “But I didn’t say anything”, and “I had absolutely nothing to say to that”. His inner dialog reveals that he is not able to share his feelings, as well as truly understand feeling of others....
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...The Plot and Theme in Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral” Raymond Carver states that by the mid-1960s he was tired of reading and writing “long narrative fiction” (“On Writing” 46). Shorter fiction, he found, was more immediate. This mode of thought may help us to understand why Carver turned to compose shorter works of fiction like “Cathedral,” a work that acts as a brief glance into how one man’s physical blindness helps another man begin to overcome his own spiritual blindness. Carver’s thematic plots could convey alternate meaning—both directly and indirectly. “Cathedral” introduces the theme of blindness, shown by “this blind man” (Carver 709), but concludes by addressing the deeper theme of internal or spiritual blindness by the host. Therefore, the plot and theme of “Cathedral” relay simultaneous levels of meaning to the reader. “Cathedral” tells a story of an irreligious man, who learns a spiritual lesson from a blind man: “But I had my eyes closed. I thought I’d keep them that way for a little longer. I thought it was something I ought to do” (Carver 718). That’s why at the end of the story he does not open his eyes for he wants to “keep them that way for a little longer” so that he can see clearly in his mind. There are two types of blindness, but when we talk about blindness, we usually think of the blindness on our physical body rather than the blindness in our mind. In “Cathedral” both Robert and the host are blind: one is blind in external sight, and the other one is...
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...Theme and Narrative Elements in the Short Story Cathedral Jeffrey A. Bauer ENG125 Dr. Myer September 18, 2014 Theme and Narrative Elements in the Short Story Cathedral The story “Cathedral” is a first person story about a narrator, his wife and a blind man named Robert who is close friends with the narrator’s wife. The narrator remains unnamed throughout the story, who is a jealous, insecure and close-minded man which is basis of the main theme in this story. According to Clugston, 2014, “The narrator, a self-absorbed person, admits his own “blindness” (lack of insight) about blind people. He doesn’t like the fact that Robert and his wife are close friends” (p.145). I believe the main theme here is insecurity, ignorance and irony. A theme is “an idea, or message, that lies behind a literary work” (Clugston, 2014, p. 117). The narrator is insecure about the relationship between his wife and Robert. In the essay, “Cathedral” by Bill Delaney, he writes about how the narrator is jealous of Robert because of his former relationship with his wife and how he is insecure knowing that his wife has probably told Robert about his faults (Delaney, 2004). I believe that the narrator shows his ignorance by mocking Robert with comments such as, “Maybe I could take him bowling” (Clugston, 2014, p.145). The irony in this story is that despite the narrator’s insecurity and ignorance, he is able to see from Robert at the end of the story. The main character in this story is the...
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...Cathedral A common and natural thing that we all do when we meet new people for the first time is to put them into boxes. By putting people into boxes we create prejudices, which is very hard to get rid off. Especially if we meet someone who has a handicap we start to get nervous and many hides their “fear”, thinking that the person with the handicap can’t see or feel our discomfort. But a blind person for example, can easily sense out fear and insecurity because he has a bigger awareness. But if we act nervous around blind people when we meet he/she for the first time, we should act different every time we meet new people. Because there are many ways of being blind and most people are blind to a feeling or emotion, that affect us more than we think. Raymond Carver has in his short story “Cathedral” portrayed this kind of blindness, where the seeing person is blinder than the actually blind person. The short story starts in media res and is set in the present. Our main character is a first person narrator, where we see things from his point of view. He has limited knowledge, which means that he works as an observer, where he doesn’t know anything about the other characters’ inside. It helps us understand why he has a hard time adjusting and accepting the blind man, because we can only hear his thoughts. The language is informal and very everyday like with a lot of dialogs. The dialogs affect the story because, it is in the dialogs that our main character develops, and...
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...In Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral,” the author introduces the readers to a common flaw in society. As people, many see disabilities as a weakness. Carver adopts this attitude in the story in the form of the husband’s prejudiced nature. The way he first greets his wife’s friend is out of obligation and is strained considerably. He sees the blind man named Robert as a relic of his wife’s past who can be treated with contempt. It is not until the near end of the short story does he actually attempt to understand this visitor through conversation. At the mention of a cathedral the two unknowingly rely on each other to show the true meaning of the grand church. The husband is forced to illustrate the depth of such a place to one who has never seen the grandeur of the cathedrals. The blind visitor in exchange transforms the man with understanding and enlightenment of himself and others. The interaction...
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...Raymond Carver planted a seed into the mind of his audience that imagination prevents stereotypical blindness. This message is important because Carver touched on a current problem that we face in our daily lives known as prejudice. This problem is caused by stereotype disease and the cure for it is imagination because people will be more sensitive to how others feel. In “Cathedral”, Carver showed how Bub, as a sighted person, was struggling with stereotypical blindness and Robert, as a blind person, was able to see with his heart and mind. The elements used to convey this message were characterization, plot, symbolism, and metaphor. The first element that Carver used was characterization. The three characters of “Cathedral” are Robert, Bub and his wife. Carver used dialogue in the story to show each character’s personality traits. Robert is a blind man who doesn't allow his disability to affect his quality of life. He can do all the things that a non-handicapped person can do such as eating, and smoking, as well as watching television. Additionally, Robert is able to have meaningful relationships with people by connecting with them on an emotional level. For example, he was in love with his deceased wife and he has a strong friendship with Bub's wife. The tone that Carver displayed for Robert was genuine affection. Speaking to Bub one night, Robert stated, “I’ll stay up until you’re ready to turn in. We haven’t had a chance to talk. Know what I mean? I feel like me and her...
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...Ignorance is Not Bliss Cathedral, written by Raymond Carver, is a short fiction essay with the narrator as the real protagonist that goes through a significant transformation. The author’s choice of point of view as well as, the theme and symbolism shown in Cathedral provide evidence to support the protagonist’s epiphany of overcoming his own prejudices. An important theme includes ignorance and understanding and the main symbol of the story is the cathedral itself. These components of the story are important in bringing out the narrator’s epiphany, where he comes to accept people for how they are and realize that he is not superior to someone who has an impairment. Carver chose first person as the point of view for this story. First person narrators are characters who tell the story from the perspective of “I” or “We”. This point of view gives the reader a chance to experience the story how the narrator sees and understands the world. In Cathedral, our narrator speaks in short, chopped sentences in the beginning. This shows the reader that he is lacking self-awareness, arrogant, and/or insecure. The narrator only sees Robert as a blind man, from the start. Throughout the story as the narrator gets to know Robert better, he becomes more descriptive with his sentences and his structure is not as choppy. This is important in showing his change of traits. This demonstrates to the readers that the narrator grows from ignorant to more open-minded and accepting, especially of...
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...“Cathedral” by Raymond Carver is a complex and intricate story; the complexity mimics the structure of a Cathedral. Cathedrals are dense buildings with complex corridors and alcoves, each nook and corner holding a secret and unique way of understanding. A Cathedral is built over generations, literally going through the hands of time, much like how each of us are raised; with each generation passing down small pieces of the culture that the next will never experience. Who we are and how we view the world does not solely come from one experience or one person. Similarly the comparison with the narrator in this story or Robert, the narrator’s views on life and the experiences that life entails are very cynical and narrow minded contrasting with...
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...What is the Theme? Hollie Ott Introduction to Literature Instructor Lenore Gallucci-Stevenson December 3, 2012 What is the Theme Over the next few paragraphs I want to show what I feel is the theme in the short story The Cathedral by Raymond Carver. This story told in the first person point of view, has a supported theme based on the characters of the story, the symbolism, and the tone. The main character, which is the narrator of the story, is an insensitive man, who cannot come to grips with his wife's distant relationship with a blind man named Robert. Throughout the course of this story the narrator is able to start to understand more that his assumptions of how a blind person should be is not necessarily the way it is at all, and eventually finds himself teaching the blind man how to see a Cathedral. Let me begin with writing in the first person point of view and how it has contributed to the them of this story. First person point of view means the narrator participates in the story by describing their personal actions and thoughts (Clugston, 2010). According to The Writers Craft writing in first person point of view is the easiest for readers because it is more intimate (The Writer's Craft, n.d.). In the Cathedral, the point of view contributes greatly to the theme because one can relate to the feelings of Robert, the wife and the narrator through their conversations. You can sense his hostility toward the blind man as he describes his preconceived idea...
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...In Raymond Carver’s story Cathedral, our narrator recounts his first meeting with a blind man using a first-person point of view, “the main character is telling the story from their point of view and of course using the 'I' form. This viewing of events largely through a character's eyes is called an internal point of view. We may not experience everything they do but events are mostly seen through their eyes, with an insight into their thoughts and feelings and often with comments on the situation,” (Sanger, 1998, pg 13). Robert is no ordinary blind man though, he and the narrator’s wife are friends and Robert has come for an overnight stay. “This blind man, an old friend of my wife’s, he was on his way to spend the night,” (cited in Clugston, 2010, sec. 8.3, para 2). The narrator initially sets the theme of the story with his stereotype of blindness, “My idea of blindness came from 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,” (cited in Clugston, 2010, sec. 8.3, para 2). The narrator’s stereotypical thoughts continue throughout the story, “I remember having read somewhere that the blind didn’t smoke because, as speculation had it, they couldn’t see the smoke they exhaled. I thought I knew that much and that much only about blind people. But this blind man smoked his cigarette down to the nubbin and then lit another one,” (cited in Clugston,...
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...direction of what you want to see and the image instantaneously appears. The inner, invisible, intangible characteristics require more than receptors and neurons to visualize. Thought and personal investment are required in the visualization of the intangible. In “Cathedral”, Raymond Carver suggests blindness is often an affliction of the heart and soul and not the eyes. Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral” is a short story about a husband’s journey to enlightenment. A longtime friend of the wife comes to visit after the death of his wife. The wife meets the blind man, Robert, ten years prior while looking for a summer job. She becomes his assistant. The wife reads briefs, reports, and helps organize the blind man’s office. Over the years the wife and blind man keep in touch; corresponding by sending audio tapes through the mail (Carver). The visit from the blind man is not something the husband is excited about. He remains disconnected from the conversation most of the evening. When the wife falls to sleep, the husband is forced to engage with the blind man. With the persistence of the blind man, the husband engages in a conversation about cathedrals. It is through the process of describing the cathedrals to the blind man that the life of the...
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...Cathedral In this world, it’s quite common to meet someone with a disability. In fact there are 650 million people in the world who are disabled, according to the World Health Organization. One of the main characters in “Cathedral” written by Raymond Carver, Richard, is blind. I can relate to him on a certain level because I have asthma. People with disabilities are often discriminated against, though sometimes, I believe, unintentionally. The general population of non-disabled people usually have misconceptions about disabilities because of the media and hearing about things from friends. This I what the blind man, Richard, encounters when he comes to visit the woman who used to read to him many years ago. The husband of the woman had limited knowledge about blindness that only came from what he sees in the movies. I used to get picked on because people didn’t know a lot about asthma. It is quite sad honestly, that people usually don’t take the time to learn about disabilities. The woman continually fusses at her husband about how he speaks and acts around the blind man. I, honestly, find this annoying. How is the husband supposed to learn the boundaries if she holds him back from doing anything? There is a part where the wife gives the husband a look and the husband thinks to himself “I don’t think she likes what she sees...” Personally, I think the husband is doing okay even if his knowledge of blindness is faulty. Richard is of the same opinion, I believe. He is always...
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...Cathedral There are three major characters in this short story. Two of which stay unnamed throughout the story, the husband and the wife. The third character is a middle-aged blind man named Robert. He is an old friend and previous employer of the wife. It has been ten years since they had seen each other in person, but they kept in consistent contact by sending each other recorded messages on tapes. When Robert’s wife Beulah passes his old employee, the young wife, more than happily opens her home to him. “Cathedral” takes place in the household of the husband and wife. The wife’s old friend comes to visit and he stays the night after a lot of traveling for his wife’s funeral. The husband is uneasy about Robert staying in their home, not because he is a stranger to him but mainly because he is blind. He arrives just before dinner. They have a few drinks, eat, and return again to the living room to continue drinking. Robert and the wife talk for a while about events that have occurred in the past ten years they have been apart. The husband intentionally being rude turns on the television. This story seems to be set in the mid 1940’s or 1950’s. This is evident because the husband asks Robert if he has one. “My dear, I have two TVs. I have a color set and a black-and-white thing,” says Robert, and he can somehow tell that the television they are watching is a color set. The majority of “Cathedral” occurs in the living room. Hours pass and the wife falls asleep...
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...Cathedral It is an ongoing problem that people are narrow-minded and have preconceptions. It does no one good and is an obstacle in your everyday life. By closing your eyes, the other senses, like feeling, hearing and smelling, tune in and take over. A lot can be learned from these senses and new truths can be unrevealed. In the short story Cathedral, the main character stops his prejudices and sees a new truth. The short story Cathedral takes place in the 1990s in a married couple’s house in New York, America. The narrator of the story is the husband. The short story is told as from a first persons point of view. The narrator introduces both his wife and their guest, the blind man. The only information we get about the husband comes from his actions and thoughts. They let us know how he thinks a blind man should act “My idea of blindness came from the movies. In the movies, the blind man moved slowly and never laughed. Sometimes they were led by seeing-eye dogs.” From these thoughts we learn about the narrator’s prejudice and preconceptions. The husband has a lack of sympathy for their guest who is blind and has lost his wife. Through most of the story, the narrator refers to Robert as “the blind man”. This indicates that the narrator don’t see him as a normal human being, but only as a disabled man. Robert, the blind man, is in his late 40s. He is muscular, bald, has a beard and is spiffy. To much regret for the husband, Robert doesn’t wear sunglasses “But he didn’t use...
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...Alvin Veras Safia Ahmad English 108-OP95(1) 27 November 2015 Analysis of Cathedral by Raymond Carver In “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver, it is about two men who are blind, one physically and the other psychologically. Carver uses a narrator who is a faux naif narrating his story about his life. The narrator’s wife has an old blind friend named, Robert. The story is about transcendence where although the unnamed narrator can physically see things, he lacks the wisdom and potential to see the greatness in other aspects of life that one could be limited due to physical factors. The narrator is given a gift of seeing a cathedral through the eyes of a blind man as his character develops from being psychologically blind to being able to see life from a different perspective. To understand the meaning of “Cathedral,” it is helpful first to analyze the author’s style of writing. Carver uses the first-person point of view to allow the audience to see the narrator’s thought process and reasoning. With the use of this style of writing, Carver can convey the narrator’s bigotry based on his stereotype and lack of knowledge towards a blind person. The narrow-mindedness of the narrator is apparent on how he refers to his wife’s close friend as just a blind man “a blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to” (Carver 266). He was displeased when he found out that the blind man was coming for a visit. In addition, this gives the audience the opportunity to see into...
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