Raymond Carver Cathedral Essay - 999 Words

Reasoning Behind the Unfamiliar In Raymond Carver’s story â€Å"Cathedral† there are many signs of prejudice, jealousy, misunderstandings and eventually what may appear to possibly be a development of friendship. There is a fair amount of preconceived judgment made by the narrator in regards to an old friend coming to visit his wife. At the beginning of the story the narrator refers to the old friend as â€Å"the blind man† (Carver 455) and makes it clear that he â€Å"wasn’t enthusiastic about his visit.† (456) Although, the narrator embarks into unknown territory while preparing for the visit and while engaging with a blind man during his stay, he finds himself seeing the world in a new light. The narrator, whom is eventually referred to as Bub†¦show more content†¦The narrator’s wife writes a poem about how â€Å"the blind man touch[es] her nose and lips† (456). The narrator shows resentment by acknowledging that he â⠂¬Å"didn’t think much of the poem† (456). The fact that the narrator’s wife writes a poem about the blind man physically touching her in an intimate way seems to upset him. He does not seem to press the issue with his wife since it was before meeting her, however it does seem to add to the list of reasons as to why the narrator may not like the idea of the visit to come. Although, the narrator struggles with the misunderstandings behind his wife’s and the blind man’s relationship it becomes apparent that Robert was in fact married. The narrator is proven to have jealous thoughts and a biased opinion of what blind people are like, but he realizes that Robert was now widowed and has lost a woman that â€Å"never [saw] herself as she was seen in the eyes of her loved one† (Carver 458). Robert was the â€Å"husband [that] could never read the expression on her face, be it misery or something better† (458). These revelations are just a few that possibly help the narrator start to feel some comfort behind the upcoming visit. In addition the narrator has a few prejudice thoughts about the blind man prior to his arrival, but they appear to change as the story evolves. The narrator is not afraid in voicing hisShow MoreRelated Raymond Carvers Cathedral Essay6977 Words   |  28 Pages In quot;The Compartment,quot; one of Raymond Carvers bleakest stories, a man passes through the French countryside in a train, en route to a rendevous with a son he has not seen for many years. quot;Now and then,quot; the narrator says of the man, quot;Meyers saw a farmhouse and its outbuildings, everything surrounded by a wall. He thought this might be a good way to live-in an old house surrounded by a wallquot; (Cathedral 48). Due to a last minute change of heart, however, Meyers choosesRead More Raymond Carvers Cathedral Essay955 Words   |  4 Pages nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;As with many short stories, Raymond Carver’s â€Å"Cathedral† only has a few pages to develop his main character and create a scenario he or she must learn from or achieve something from or change because of. In such a short amount of space, word choice is integral in constructing a solid impression of the characters and their personalities in the reader’s mind. Carver’s simple use of language and sentence structure combined with his choice for point of view creates anRead MoreRaymond Carver Cathedral Essay781 Words   |  4 PagesIn the â€Å"Cathedral,† Raymond Carver tried to portray two different aspects of blindness; one is a person who physically unable to see the world due to lack of eyes and other aspect concerns about narrator’s and his wife’s blindness who are not blind physical but socially and emotionally. In this story, there are various metaphors of blindness. One example of which is a blind pers on helping the other person (who is not visually impaired) to draw cathedral even though he hasnt seen one. Blindness isRead MoreEssay on Cathedral by Raymond Carver1290 Words   |  6 PagesThe story of Cathedral, by Raymond Carver, shows that you do not have to see someone or something in order to appreciate them for who or what they are. It is about a husband, the narrator, and his wife who live in a house. The wife, whose name they do not mention, has a very close friend who is blind. His name is Robert. Roberts wife dies, and comes to their house to spend a couple of days with the narrator and his wife. The narrator, whose name they do not mention as well, is always on edge becauseRead MoreEssay on The Cathedral by Raymond Carver980 Words   |  4 PagesCathedral is a short story ultimately about enlightment, finding something more meaningful and deeper with in one self. Although from an observing point of view nothing more in the story happens then a blind man assisting the narrator in drawing a cathedral. Although as known, the narrators experience radically differs from what is actually observed. He is enlightened and opened up to a new world of vision and imagination. This brief experience will have a life long effect on him. The reasonRead MoreEssay about Cathedral by Raymond Carver813 Words   |  4 PagesCathedral by Raymond Carver In Raymond Carver?s ?Cathedral?, the conventional ideas often associated with blindness and sight are challenged. By juxtaposing his two male characters, Carver is able to effectively explore sight and its seemingly simplistic relationship with learning and knowledge. As well, he addresses the barriers imposed by the human tendency to rely on vision as the sole means of experiencing the world. At the beginning of the story, the narrator?s perception onRead MoreAP and Cathedral Comparison Essay1617 Words   |  7 PagesMallory Russell 06/12/15 Comparison Essay ENG 102 Online â€Å"Cathedral† by Raymond Carver versus â€Å"A + P† by John Updike In the short stories â€Å"Cathedral† by Raymond Carver and â€Å"A + P† by John Updike the protagonists experience an epiphany that change their restricted way of thinking. The main character, â€Å"Sammy† in John Updike’s, â€Å"A + P† is a teenage boy working in the town grocery store. Sammy experiences an epiphany when he decides to quit his job at the grocery store. He quit because he believedRead MoreMasculinity And Style In Hemingway And Carver1604 Words   |  7 PagesMasculinity and Style in Hemingway and Carver. The following will present the themes of masculinity in relation to style in Raymond Carver and Ernest Hemingway. Both are major figures of 20th century US fiction, and both write about characters that struggle with male or masculine identity and social expectations. These struggles often mean that other characters in their stories are the victims. In other words, the problems that the characters experience, are both internalized but also externalizedRead MoreAnalysis Of Cathedral And The Red Convertible 1362 Words   |  6 PagesSukhpreet Kaur Professor Robert Sternberg EAC 150 Date- August 5, 2016 Topic - In both â€Å"Cathedral† and â€Å"The Red Convertible,† one character attempts to help another overcome a state of unhappiness and hopelessness. Happiness and Hope are the two most important blessings in life. Happiness is the ultimate reason for living. It is not relevant just to a single person but it is important for the whole global community. Hope is that great thing in life that gives strength to people to live life, evenRead MoreAnalysis Of Raymond Carver s Cathedral 1340 Words   |  6 PagesRaymond Carver’s characters were considered to be very much like him: â€Å"’on the edge: of poverty, alcoholic self-destruction, loneliness† (Mays 32). His short story â€Å"Cathedral† is about a young couple, who have a visitor coming to stay with them. This visitor, Robert, is the wife’s friend, and he is blind. The narrator, the husband, has never met someone who is blind, was bothered by that. To him, being blind meant constantly needing help from others. His depiction of blindness was what he has seen