Analysis Of ' Cathedral ' And ' The Handsomest Man Drowned '

The author uses 3rd person omniscient point of view in addition to 1st person point of view. The point of views shift between a narrator and five characters throughout the entire short story in order to help the readers understand the family dynamics during a stay at a lake house in Canada. The narrator is used to provide an unbiased description of the characters and events taking place, while each character also offers their own narrative and views. Without the multiple point of views offered, the reader may only understand that Portia’s frustration with George led her to killing herself, discounting the clear issues that Prue and Pamela had exposed the family to as well.

By the end of Raymond Carver's "Cathedral," the narrator is a round character because he undergoes development. The story opens with the narrator's unconcern for meeting the blind man, Robert, which is because he was uninvolved in the friendship between the blind man and the narrator's wife. Feeling intimidated, he discloses, "I wasn't enthusiastic about his visit. He was no one I knew. And his being blind bothered me" (Carver 1). This emphasizes the narrator's unwillingness to bond with the blind man, which is made visible as the story progresses; moreover, he does not acknowledge their relationship. This is highlighted when he mentions what the name of the blind man's wife was. "Her name was Beulah. Beulah! That's a name for a colored woman. 'Was his wife a Negro?' I asked" (3). He seems disgusted with people. The insensitive narrator's prejudice is evident by him saying, "I've never met, or personally known, anyone who was blind" (5). This statement causes the audience to expect growth in him. The narrator's detachment from the blind man is indicated by his disinterest in cathedrals and tapes; nevertheless, the blind man and the narrator have had dinner, "smoked dope," and drank together,

Through the spontaneous relationship forged between the narrator and Robert, the theme of “Cathedral” is intended to be the restoration and rediscovery of human worth. This concept of theme is promoted in the story by the aloof narrator, who has no personal connections or friendships, not even with his wife, finally spawning a connection with Robert. The narrator’s wife shows that he has no friends in her exchange with him by saying, “‘You don’t have any friends’ she said ‘Period.’” (Carver 359). The lack of the narrator’s personal companionships and relations causes him

Moreover, Carver uses first person point of view to describe the narrator’s life and the meaning of the cathedral to him. Through the first person point of view given to the narrator and one of the main characters of the story, Carver is able to portray a narrator who is jealous and insecure of himself. The narrator’s

Cathedral, the short story by Raymond Carver is told from a first person point of view through the eyes of the narrator who remains nameless throughout the story. The narrator, for most of the story acts selfish, feels jealousy, and does not want Robert, a blind man, to come to visit, but as the story progresses, the narrator gets to know and understand Robert and for the first time, he begins to see things with a completely different perspective. These changes make the narrator a dynamic character.

Point of view is important in any novel. It allows readers to see and understand the events and characters in a novel. Depending on who is speaking, point of view can drive the plot and convey the thoughts of the characters in a story. In the novel, The Brief Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz, point of view plays a crucial role in narrating the life of the lonesome outsider, Oscar. The novel is narrated in first person, but Diaz chooses to disclose who the speaker is until later in the book. As the story progresses, there are clues that hint to the reader who the outside source narrating Oscars life is. Diaz uses Yunior to narrate a majority of the novel. This point of view lets the readers understand the Dominican culture through Yunior’s commentary and perspective. It also gives an outside perspective on Oscar which helps build Oscar as a character. Instead of using an omniscient third person or generic first person point of view, Diaz uses multiple characters to narrate the story. This ingenious idea gave the story a more personal and up close look at not only the life of Oscar, but also the lives of his sister, Lola, and his mother, Beli.

A third-person narration story is a separation or indirect involvement of a narrator with the action of a story, and this type of narration can influence the content and the theme of a story. A third-person storyteller can sometimes be all-seeing, also known as omniscient, or they can be limited meaning to adhere firmly to the viewpoint of a specific character or characters. Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” and Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s “Harrison Bergeron” are two good examples of third-person point of view stories. These two stories give the authors the liberty to influence their content and theme across to readers using third-person narration without being biased.

Having each story been written in a third-person narrative form, the reader knows the innermost feelings of the

In Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral” the narrator is seen to show ignorance and bias towards blindness throughout the story, however towards the end he realizes his flaws and the difference between looking and seeing. From the beginning of the story to the end you can see a change within the narrator after his encounter with the blind man. At the end of Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral” the narrator hopes to accomplish a change in his understanding of himself, and his experience with Robert flickers this change towards the end of the story.

First-person narration can provide an exotic and perhaps unreliable viewpoint. The narrator’s thoughts and feelings are conveyed more clairvoyantly than possible in third or even second person, an effect that develops a more intimate and relevant story to the reader. In "Cathedral," Raymond Carver uses conversational tone and diction to expose the narrator 's character: prejudicial at first, sympathetic by the end. Knowing his character simplifies the understanding of major components of the story such as the narrator 's hostility to Robert and his epiphany at the end.

“Cathedral” is a short story that was written by Raymond Carver in 1981. Raymond Carver is most well known for his short stories and is even an writer credited with reviving the then dying form of literature. A part of a collection of short stories, “Cathedral” was the last to be published and was included in 1982’s Best American Short Stories. “Cathedral is different from the other works of Carver due to the humanistic realism that is given to his characters, which had not been seen before in his works. This shift earned Carver the critical success he always wanted and “Cathedral” became his most famous work. “Cathedral” is Carver’s most revered work of literature and is due mostly in part to his shift in style with his storytelling.

Literature has the potential to act as a mirror by presenting people’s lived experiences, expectations, and perceptions through characters. Such is what can be deciphered through the analysis of different characters in Raymond Carver’s story “Cathedral.” This paper focuses on the narrator of the story portrayed by the author as blind, which is used metaphorically not to imply physical blindness, but the inability to have reasoned judgment others referred to as lack of emotional intelligence. The presentation of the narrator, as a fallible individual, contributes to the development of the theme and plot of the story because, through them, the reader can learn about other

In the short story “Cathedral”, written by Raymond Carver, the story is told through the narrator’s eyes as the audience gains insight on his perspective of his life and, more specifically, his views on his wife and her blind friend. The narrator’s name is never mentioned throughout the story, but his personality and initial narrow-minded bias towards his wife’s friend Robert depicts his character traits. Throughout the story he does not seem to change his views, but once he experiences Robert’s point of view in his life, the narrator changes his perspective. This suggests the narrator is a dynamic character in the story due to his change after getting to know Robert.

The article written by McManus does an overview of Cathedral and how the series of events affected the unnamed narrator. McManus discussed key points about the relationship between the three characters and the tension that seems to not go away. Along with the points McManus also describes the literary devices that Carver uses to show the relationship between the characters and how it affects the narrator.

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