Cathedral is narrated by a man whose wife has invited her old friend to visit their home. The narrator is troubled by his visit in more ways than one and for reasons he can’t explain. His negative attitude towards the blind man says it all, but drawing the Cathedral with him becomes a life changing experience for the narrator. One evening the narrator is asked by Robert to try and explain the cathedrals they saw on TV. The narrator wonders how he will ever explain cathedrals to a blind man who has never saw anything before. The narrator tries, but realizes he can’t. Finally he says, “The truth is, cathedrals don’t mean anything special to me. Nothing. They’re something to look at on late night TV. That’s all they are” (Carver 41). Not only
Cathedral shows the development of a narrator who has been placed in what seems, at first to be an awkward situation which ends up, instead, being a moment of true revelation. Carver depicts the story in a rather strident tone, making the narrator, appear as the antihero, though some may view his character as somewhat humorous, and straightforward, his tone is initially very harsh and ignorant. Carver said himself that the narrator albeit having many prejudices against blind people, he changes; he grows out of those narrow minded ways. The story follows the lives of three main characters; the narrator who lacks a name, his wife and his wife’s blind friend, Robert. The narrator is initially openly critical and uneducated towards the blind man and his perception of the world, but towards the end of the story we see him becoming more accepting of the man whom he once saw as strange and even “pathetic” for not ever having seen his wife who died of cancer, he says,
Carver’s story “Cathedral” opens with this blind man, coming to visit the narrator’s wife friend of ten years. It takes place in the narrator's home; he is on his way to spend the night. However,
In the short story “Cathedral” by Reymond Carver, the narrator has a closed mindset about life. He has made up his own world where he only looks and not sees what is behind everything. The narrator wife worked for a blind man who lost his wife years back, she had developed a friendship with the blind man, but the narrator does not enjoy this friendship. She invited the blind man over the house, maybe Robert will change the narrator point of view.
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.
The husband is the narrator in “Cathedral,” by Raymond Carver. The husband is an indirect and round character. The husband goes from being rude to being kind and trusting after getting to know the blind man. In the beginning of the story, the husband is constantly telling his wife he doesn’t wish for a stranger in his home.
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.
In “Cathedral,” Raymond Carver exhibit the different conflicts between the narrator and Robert the blind man. Raymond Carver show man vs. self, and man vs. man.
"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.
This shows how the narrator was about his knowledge of cathedrals and when the blind man asks
Raymond Carver’s short-story Cathedral is outwardly about a pessimistic man, whose wife’s blind visitor named Robert changes the narrators predisposing perception of the world and awakes a new view on life in the process. But inwardly, the story is about the desperate need for connection between these three characters, which isn’t feasible do to the emotional-detachment by the narrator. In the beginning, the narrator is hindered by his prejudices which doesn 't allow him connect to anything greater than himself. But with the help of the blind man who is able to see the greater truth, since he’s incapable of having his perception distorted based on outer appearance; allows him to teach the narrator the difference between looking and seeing. Carver is proclaiming that when we open ourselves to new ways of connecting with others, and new ways of viewing at the world, we can have hugely rewarding experiences.
People are always put in situations that they do not necessarily know how to handle. The narrator, in “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver has personally never been around anyone who was blind until his wife introduces him her lifelong blind friend. Being inexperienced can make someone uncomfortable, which can be taken as being judgemental. As the story progresses, the narrator transitions from being uncomfortable to having a better understanding of the blind man and his life. The narrator is not judgemental of the blind man, but is someone who is uncomfortable, and is experiencing this situation for the first time.
In his short story “Cathedral” Raymond Carver uses a unnamed narrator to tell his story in a first person point of view. Other than his name we get to know that he has a wife who's blind friend's, Robert, wife just passed away and he is visiting her family in Connecticut. During Roberts stay in Connecticut he will be staying at their house. While the man was able to see perfectly from his eyes he wasn't able to see his surroundings and others feelings. On the other hand Robert was lacking eye sight but was able to understand people very well. The narrator feels bad for Robert because he has never seen his wife, but the truth is he saw and understood her in his own way. Sometimes we can see someone but can't really see what they are feeling or trying to say.
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.
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
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.