Response Criticism In Raymond Carver's Cathedral

“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.

In both “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver, and “Interpreter of Maladies” by Jhumpa Lahiri, dysfunctional relationships are introduced between two characters; however, these relationships are greater in depth than a simple conflict and develop over time. Carver’s story begins with the narrator’s wife informing him of her close relations with Robert – the blind man – along with the many personal things she has shared with Robert; personal things consisting of her “[decision] to live away from her officer,” and later her divorce (Carver 35). This influenced the narrator’s reluctance to accept Robert, but the faith from the cathedral overpowered his distant behavior. Whereas, Lahiri creatively provokes dysfunction by illustrating misconceptions of a single word, “romantic”. Mrs. Das, a woman drowned in guilt and unhappiness refers to her tour guide’s – Mr. Kapasi – alternate job as an interpreter to be romantic; on the other hand, Kapasi, a man who longs for affection from a woman misunderstands her sudden interest for a physical and emotional attraction. Robert and the narrator’s relationship is more impactful than Mrs. Das and Mr. Kapasi because the narrator reaches an ultimate epiphany with the help of Robert.

Carver’s short story “Cathedral” is about a man and a woman who are married. The woman’s blind friend Robert, whose wife just died is coming to stay with them because he plans on visiting his dead wife’s relatives nearby. Robert knew the man’s wife because she worked for him one summer, reading to Robert. The wife and Robert stayed in touch over the years by sending tapes to each other, and letting each other know about what was going on in their lives. When the man hears Robert is coming over he makes idiotic comments about Robert’s wife and felt that Robert would be a burden on them because he is blind. The man and the woman proceed to argue over the situation. The wife tells her husband, “If you had a friend, any friend, and the friend came to visit, I’d make him feel comfortable” (Carver, “Cathedral” 34). The man responds to this by stating, “I don’t have any blind friends” (Carver, “Cathedral” 34). When Robert finally arrives, they converse, drink, and eat together. After, the wife goes upstairs, the man and Robert begin to smoke some weed together. While the wife was sleeping, they start watching TV together and talking. Robert asks the man to explain to him what a cathedral looks like because cathedrals came up on the TV. The man has trouble explaining it and cannot describe to Robert what a cathedral looks like. Then Robert asks the man to draw a cathedral with him. Robert request that the man close his eyes, and they begin to draw. This is where the story ends and it seems that this is when the man became aware of the difficult lives blind people live as he could not explain what a cathedral looked like, and he could not see his drawing.

In Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral”, the short story is told by a character within the story. The first-person point of view gives us a transparent visual of an important time in the narrators’ life. The narrator, who is “un-named” in the beginning of the story, uses blunt, flawless and a particular choice of words. This gives us as the reader a deeper connection with the narrator. The narrator begins this story by taking us through the changes he go through with the uneasy feeling of having a blind-man coming to his house to visit.

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.

"Cathedral" 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 narrator's 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 reason for this strong and positive effect is not so much the relationship made between the blind man and the narrator or even the actual events leading up to this experience, but rather it is mostly due to what was drawn by the narrator.

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.

Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral” is a short story that unfolds through the perspective of Bub. The story begins by depicting Bub’s narrow mindedness and as the story progresses it becomes clear that his perspective shifts after an encounter with his wife’s blind friend Robert. It is through this encounter that Bub has an epiphany. It is his jealousy towards Robert and intoxication that debunk his preconceived notations and highlight the connection between him and Robert. It is only after his epiphany that he is drawn out of this obliviousness and gains insight. Bub’s wife, his smoking, and drinking are key elements in breaking apart his bias and as a result he is enlightened.

Raymond Carver the author of “Cathedral” the narrator in this story has some prejudices, against blind people as well as so discomfort and jealousy towards Robert who is his wife long friend and confidence. In spite of how the narrator feel about Robert he does exactly what his wife asked him to do, helps to make Robert feel comfortable. This is where the reader can see the narrator had integrity. He puts his own person feeling behind him and does everything he can for Robert. For example, making sure Robert understands what's on television. We see leadership and integrity in Robert as well, Robert isn’t just a blind man, he is a man that has seen the world and a person who works with what he was giving and makes the best of his life that he

In Raymond Carver’s story, Cathedral, depicts a charismatic twist as the husband, protagonist does not care to define the previous men that shared pivotal moments in his wife’s life, a name. He is irritated that his

The second thing that makes the theme or message come out is the characterization in the story. In Cathedral, there are three main characters. The most important character in the story is Robert, the blind friend of the wife's. Unlike the narrator, Robert cannot physically see, but has a clear vision of appreciating the person's true inner self. For example, when the narrator cannot comprehend how Robert's wife even loved Robert. He says,
"It was beyond my understanding. Hearing this, I felt sorry for the blind man for a little bit. And then I found myself thinking what a pitiful life this woman must have led. Imagine a woman who could never see herself as she was seen in the eyes of her loved one. A woman who could go on day after day and never receive the smallest compliment

Raymond Carver's short story, "Cathedral" illustrates a story in which many in today's world can be related in different way. It has been presented from the main sentence of the story to a man that is by all means annoyed and stimulated. In the storyit is uncertain of the thoughts behind the man's inconvenience. The man, who is by all accounts is an immediate illustration of Raymond Carver himself, demonstrates his numbness by stereotyping a visually disabled man by the name of Robert, who has come to visit his old friend and her husband. From the earliest starting point, Carver demonstratedthe narrators hate for Robert yet through the span of the story guides into solace with him and at last is instructed a lesson from the extremely one he disdained. On the other hand Junot Diaz's "Ysrael" or “NO Face” is the narrative of two siblings Yunior and Rafa who were spending a run of the mill summer excursion in the Dominican Republic there they found a fascinating young men who goes on mission to find what lies underneath the veil of a nearby and his name is “Ysrael” or in the English version of the story he was called “No Face”, who was horrendously deformed when a pig

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.

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

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,