Raymond Carter Cathedral Analysis
In the short story Cathedral by Raymond Carter, the narrator is jealous of a blind man that has been touching his wife’s face. He seems to not understand his needs with his situation and with his background of not liking his job or the way his relationship is with his wife he becomes more insecure. As they begin bonding in some way Robert asks the narrator to explain to him what a cathedral is in order for him to visualize it. However, he wants it done through a drawing. With this the narrator begins to get uncomfortable but agrees. He then starts to draw with Roberts’s hand. In some way with their hands touching the two men work together and temporarily understand each other. Robert has an effect on the narrator that is somewhat magical
to him. In a way Robert helps him understand life and find a meaning to everything or even forget what is happening. The act of looking and seeing become a very distinct device. The narrator might be fully capable of seeing but the blind man shows him the ability to see much deeper into things. Even though Robert cannot fully see, he understands everything in a different level. When Robert first asks the narrator to describe the cathedral to him he cannot see to find the correct way to make him see it. When the narrator finishes drawing he still keeps his eyes closed the irony is that he can actually see yet he feels like he can truly see with his eyes closed. The narrator says that he “didn’t feel like he was inside anything” (Carver). In this quote it is obvious that without all the extra things he has going on he actually feels weightless. The cathedral makes him open the door into a deeper place in the world and see beyond what is actually visible. Overall, the narrator finds himself looking at the world differently he opens himself to a new way of viewing the world. He can now focus more on what is not there than what is. In the short story the narrator states, “It was like nothing else in my life up to now… My eyes were still closed” (Carver). In this quote the shock of what he has discovered is clear to the reader, he shows that he is now free and keeps his eyes close to realize what he has been taking for granted all these truthfully powerful aspects of life. By him no longer looking at the life that surrounds him he lets himself “see” what lies behind the materialists items.
to him. In a way Robert helps him understand life and find a meaning to everything or even forget what is happening. The act of looking and seeing become a very distinct device. The narrator might be fully capable of seeing but the blind man shows him the ability to see much deeper into things. Even though Robert cannot fully see, he understands everything in a different level. When Robert first asks the narrator to describe the cathedral to him he cannot see to find the correct way to make him see it. When the narrator finishes drawing he still keeps his eyes closed the irony is that he can actually see yet he feels like he can truly see with his eyes closed. The narrator says that he “didn’t feel like he was inside anything” (Carver). In this quote it is obvious that without all the extra things he has going on he actually feels weightless. The cathedral makes him open the door into a deeper place in the world and see beyond what is actually visible. Overall, the narrator finds himself looking at the world differently he opens himself to a new way of viewing the world. He can now focus more on what is not there than what is. In the short story the narrator states, “It was like nothing else in my life up to now… My eyes were still closed” (Carver). In this quote the shock of what he has discovered is clear to the reader, he shows that he is now free and keeps his eyes close to realize what he has been taking for granted all these truthfully powerful aspects of life. By him no longer looking at the life that surrounds him he lets himself “see” what lies behind the materialists items.