Theme, Theme And Epiphary In Raymond Carver's 'Cathedral'

Robert and the narrator are watching a television documentary on cathedrals, hence the title, and Robert asks “…maybe you could describe one to me?” (188), because he understands what the purpose of cathedrals is, but he has no idea what they look like. The narrator attempts to describe a cathedral, but he does not know how to “…even begin to describe it.” (188). The cathedral means nothing to him, and he admits to Robert that when it comes to religion: “’I guess I don’t believe in it. In anything. Sometimes it’s hard.’” (189). When Robert suggests that they draw a cathedral together, hand over hand, the narrator becomes nervous and cautious, he is unsure what do. After a little bit, the narrator became more comfortable and “…couldn’t stop” drawing (190). The narrator then closes his eyes to finish off the drawing, and at that moment with Robert, he metaphorically opens his eyes. He does not exactly know what happened, but he knows something positively changed, he felt like “it [was] really something.” (190). He has an out of body experience, “…I didn’t feel like I was inside anything” (190), an epiphany. Carver does not entirely explain the ending or what happens next, but one can be optimistic and assume that Robert changed the narrator for the better, by making him close his eyes to

Bub’s epiphany helps him realize how Robert mirrors his life. The first indication of this was the jealousy he felt when his wife told him about her last day working with Robert. “On her last day last day in the office, the blind man asked if he could touch her face. She told me he touched his fingers to every part of her face, her nose--even her neck! She never forgot it”(pg. 3). The narrator’s jealousy was triggered because the thought of another male touching his wife bothered him. The mere fact that it was a she could never forget, it hit him hard. This emotional reaction shows that either the narrator doesn’t connect with his wife on an intimate level or he never cared for how his wife felt intimately until she spoke of another male and how his touch was unforgettable.

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.

In the short story, Cathedral, by Raymond Carver, the author uses imagery, symbolism and narrates the story in first person point of view. The Cathedral’s main theme is being able to identify the difference between being able to look and/or see and it is portrayed through the main characters role in the story. Carver uses a unique style of writing which gives the short story a simple way for the reader to understand the story’s theme.

The cathedral is used symbolically to represent the gradual shift in Caver’s sensibility. It symbolically signals the movement towards hope from horror in ambiguity. Despair and equilibrium redemption replace Emotional tumult. On the other side, Carver’s story is

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.

Firstly, Crabbe develops emotionally as a result of him meeting Mary in the bush. Before meeting Mary, Crabbe feels like no one cares about what he wants or how he feels. Crabbe explains, “it doesn't pay to be honest to yourself” (Bell 30-31). After meeting Mary he feels important for someone. Crabbe says, “I never met anyone who made me feel necessary” (Bell 124). Crabbe shows improvement in his emotional state because, he does not feel important fro someone before meeting Mary. This also helps Crabbe get over his parents, who barely make an effort to know him. Moreover, when Mary

The narrator in “The Cathedral” begins the story with the issue of hesitation in seeing the light. The light in this story just like the light in Plato’s “Myth of the Cave” represents reality. The narrator expresses the fear of expressing reality when he said “ I wasn’t

Thirdly, Crabbe character develops emotionally because he cares about others like his parents and Mary instead of just caring about himself. When Crabbe saw how his parents looked worn out and beaten down because of his disappearance, he was ashamed for what he has done and stated, “I sobbed, my fist clenched in shame. I welp for guilt I had caused them to feel” (Bell 180). Crabbe sobbing and feeling ashamed shows how much he emotionally changed since his journey. By feeling ashamed for what he did to his parents, showed that he cares about his actions and what it can do to others which is an emotional development. Crabbe’s life has gotten better but he still feels upsets when he remembers Mary: “I had some bad moments, remembering Mary, with

Lacking the words to describe the cathedral, “You’ll have to forgive me,” I said. “But I can’t tell you what a cathedral looks like.” Richard said, “I get it bub. It’s okay” (Carver 44).

“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.

Lives are diverse. Every being that passes by on the street, at school, at work, anywhere lives a completely unique life different from any other individual. Each person that one could meet has attended different schools, travelled to different places, and lived under different circumstances; they all pass by in an instant without a second thought or even a passing glance. These several diverse experiences sculpt diverse individuals with diverse thoughts, opinions, dreams, and motives. However, in Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral,” the narrator must converse with an individual that lives an extremely dissimilar life from his own. A blind man, friends with the narrator’s wife and a recent widower, has come to live with the narrator for a while. This sudden change in the narrator’s life does not come easy because of his inherent arrogance and prejudice. Nevertheless, the blind man remains polite and shows the narrator how similar, yet still different their lives are through example as well as an explicit exercise where he holds the narrator’s hands while he draws a cathedral in order to “see” what the cathedral looks like. To assist the reader in fully grasping the impact of this breakthrough in the narrator’s life regarding perspective and various types of human realities, Carver employs a large number of stylistic elements to enhance his writing.

The cathedral represents a change in perspective—from ignorant to understanding. The cathedral also represents a shift in tone in this story, from disliking to lively. Bub starts out not even remotely liking Robert, thinking that he’s going to be too slow for him and throughout the night, learns his original assumption was wrong. After he draws the cathedral and closes his eyes to feel it, he realizes that sight isn’t everything and it totally changes how he will start to see

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.

Through the author's use of diction, more aspects of the narrator's personality are revealed. Simply from word choice, we learn that the narrator is prejudicial towards others, and jealous of other men's relationships with his wife. When facing the situation of Robert coming to town to visit his wife, the narrator blatantly expresses that "a blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to" (Carver 209). This repeated substitution of "blind man"