In the short story “Cathedral,” by Raymond Carver, the narrator draws a cathedral with his blind guest and transforms from a narrow-minded, materialistic, and superficial individual to an individual who acknowledges the spiritual aspects of life and the lives of those around him. Before the egoist narrator meets the blind man, Bub is so closed-minded, jealous, and materialistic that he does not want to help someone in need and he does not empathize with the hardships others endure. However, after Bub communicates with Robert and engineers an emotional connection, he is no longer limited by his former characteristics. Through this emotional link, Robert assists Bub in opening his mind to the spiritual world and feeling empathy for others.…
The book I read was called It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini. This book is about…
Throughout Raymond Carver’s story “Cathedral” one is shown three very vague characters. First being the narrator/ husband of the wife. He is the most important of characters because the story is his point of view and about his “blindness” as a person. Secondly, there is the wife whom used to work for the blind man. Lastly, the blindman named Robert whom has helped the wife in times of need. Do to the husband being the narrator, one will recognize his emotional detachment to the other characters in the story. An example of this detachment is that he doesn’t call anyone by their names or address them with any names. Bethany Qualls writer of “A Narrator’s Blindness in Raymond Carver’s a “Cathedral” does a very good job at describing the narrators…
in the poem cathedral by robert carvin the narrator is told by his wife that she is inviting a blind friend over the narrator finds out that his wife has been send audio tapes with a blind man named Robert who she worked for several years ago. at first the narrator was closed minded about the blind man but when the wife bring the blindman from the airport he introduces himself as robert the first thing that came to robert mind was that not what he was expecting a blind man to look like how robert was dressed he was not expecting him to have a full beard and not wear dark glasses.During his visit and dinner, the narrator feels threatened by the relationship his wife and Robert share and he doesn't know why throughout the story the narrator…
Word choice is how an author displays their writing. An author can use a complex word choice and structure to give more meaning to his or her words. Or you can have more of a simple text to have more a of a child-friendly read. Word choices can also come from an author's past, if they were raised in a southern state you find it more applicable to a southern dialect. Ned Vizzini, writer of It’s Kind Of a Funny Story, allows the reader to think more with the wonderful word choices he makes. He makes connections to the real world and uses many aspects to help the reader become more involved.…
“Where ignorance is our master, there is no possibility of real peace”, (Dalai Lama XIV). This quote relates to the narrator in Raymond Carver’s short story, “The Cathedral”. In this story Bub’s ignorance is shown in various parts throughout the story. Towards the end of the story, Bub has an epiphany. This makes him realize how ignorant he’s been towards his wife as well as Robert, her childhood sweetheart and present day best friend. He enters from a world of insecurities to a world of peace.…
Minimalism is defined as a style or technique that is characterized by extreme spareness and simplicity. In “Everything Stuck to Him”, by Raymond Carver, the frame story and minimalistic writing helps to create a personal feeling which captivates the reader. Carver’s minimalist style, frame story structure, and use of symbols all enhance the quality of his frame story.…
The third reason why the main characters are lonely is because the narrator is escapist.…
At the end of “Cathedral,” the narrator has an epiphany. How would you describe it? Check the definition of “epiphany” in our text’s glossary.…
"Boy at the Window" by Richard Wilbur is a poem about a young boy who feels very sad for a…
The narrator of Cathedral is many things; jealous, sarcastic, insensitive, inconsiderate, and overall just a bad person, he is also, surprisingly, a sympathetic character. While he exuberates many flaws and emotions that we do not readily show ourselves, this does not strike the fact that we can sympathise and relate to the narrator. In fact, it is the fact that he shows all of these flaws that make him a sympathetic character. The reason being is that he shows the emotions and flaws that humans, as a whole, want to show in any given situation, but choose not to out of compassion. Even though we do not react the same way the narrator would, it does not change the fact that often times we do feel like reacting in a similar manner that he would.…
Everything given to a person in life is a blessing, and a person has the opportunity to choose whether they want to appreciate what has been given to them or not. A blessing can be small or large, whether it be a house to live in, a car to drive in, or even eyes to see. In the short story “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver, the narrator is unappreciative towards everything he has in his life including his wife. His wife invites an old friend who shares an emotional connection with her which the narrator and wife do not share, to spend the night. The narrator becomes skeptical about Robert spending the night, especially after finding out that the man is blind. During the blind man’s visit, the narrator learns a valuable lesson. This story shares a strong message of relationships which breaks down to intimacy, jealousy, communication and acceptance. It started in the beginning of the story with the invitation of Robert to spend the night, showing the intimacy and jealousy, leading to the symbolism of the audio tapes representing communication, and ending with the symbolism of the drawing of the…
In Cathedral, by Raymond Carver, a blind man is visiting his friend that took care of him ten years ago. Although never given a name in this story, the narrator's (Bub's) wife is an important character. It is her friendship with Robert that "makes" the story. For her, it started out just as a job, and grew into much more. She read to Robert and helped him with all the household chores. She left working for him because her husband went to officer training school so they had to move. The blind man and the woman kept in touch through audio tapes throughout the years. This gave the woman enough money so that she could marry her childhood sweetheart. You may be able to tell, just what a kind and giving person she was, for doing the job she chose.…
Blindness can manifest itself in many ways. Arguably the most detrimental form of this condition may be the figurative blindness of ones own situations and ignorance towards the feelings of others. In Raymond Carver 's short story "Cathedral," the narrator 's emotional and psychological blindness is immediately apparent. The many issues faced by the narrator as well as the turn-around experienced at the culmination of the tale are the main ideas for the theme of this story; and these ideas aid the narrator in eventually succumbing to character transformation by simply regarding the literal blind man in a positive light.…
Cathedral by Raymond Carver initiates with a narrator that shows fear and prejudice towards the blind, he is a husband of an unnamed wife who so happens to be a close friend of a blind man. After the wife hears the tragic news about her friend’s loss she invites him over to her house for a time of reconciliation and comfort. The narrator’s stereotype of the blind slowly begins falling away slowly after his observation and time he gets to spend with this distinguished man, which alters his views. The short story uses a narrative point-of-view which helps give the story its meaning.…