Who is the Real Blind Man? In the story Cathedral‚ by Raymond Carver‚ the narrator makes multiple statements as to how he feels about Robert‚ the blind man. The statements are made purely on what the narrator has seen in movies and what he has read. The narrator makes harsh judgments of the blind mind regarding his inability to see his surroundings and other people. However‚ the narrator fails to see things the same way that Robert does‚ more deeply. Throughout the story the narrator finds himself
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Summary of Cathedral On the surface Raymond Carver’s‚ Cathedral is nothing more than a story of acceptance. The story takes place in New York around the 1980’s. The principle characters include: The Narrator who is a jealous husband‚ Robert a blind man who is kindhearted and the Narrator’s wife who is a lonely woman looking for attention. The story begins when an old friend of the Narrator’s wife‚ Robert‚ was coming to visit. The Narrator’s wife used to work for Robert when she lived in Seattle
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The reader learns about Robert in Cathedral mainly through the narrator‚ the husband‚ and the actions of Robert. The narrator directly states that Robert is blind and lives in Seattle. The husband learned this from his wife who used to be his care-taker and continues to stay in touch‚ so in a roundabout way we know this information only due to his wife even though the husband is the one to tell us. The narrator’s wife is the first one to tell the reader why Robert is coming to visit‚ his wife just
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Alcohol Viewed Through the Eyes of Raymond Carver Some people feel that alcohol is a substance that can be used to escape reality and live in a world where there are no dilemmas or problems that must be solved. Whether the alcohol is abused or just used in moderation‚ many people are drawn to the several aspects it has to offer. One example of someone who follows these characteristics is the very famous and talented writer‚ Raymond Carver. Raymond’s use of alcohol is clearly displayed not
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Mike Wilcox Eng. 113 12-1250 Mr. Canipe 28 November 2007 Blindness is considered a disability. The person with a disability in Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral” is Bub. A person can be handicapped mentally. Bub is self-centered‚ and lives inside his own world. He is “blind” to the world around him and does not wish to open his mind to anything outside of his ignorant‚ pathetic‚ mundane life. Robert opens Bub’s mind‚ enabling Bub to see Robert as a person first‚ and not a blind man. Robert is
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The book “Cathedral” is about two men‚ one who can see and one who cannot. The two men did not communicate at first but in a way built a great bond towards the end. As they were watching television‚ cathedral came on the screen and the narrator did not know how to explain it to the blind man so they decided to draw it together. The blind man put his hand over the narrator’s and drew. As the narrator eyes were closed‚ he began to see a big change. He did not want to open his eyes after what he had
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The third reason why the main characters are lonely is because the narrator is escapist. The narrator drinks too much‚ jealous of his wife‚ unable to adequately communicate with his wife‚ and unconnected to other human beings. In addition not only unconnected to others‚ but he also seems to resent his wife’s connections to other people as well. When “I” spoke of the impending visit by my wife’s friend: the blind man ‚ he states that‚ “I wasn’t enthusiastic about his visit. He was no one I knew.
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the short story “Popular Mechanics”‚ Raymond Carver uses the characters’ actions to represent how damaged people can become during fights. Detailed descriptions of the characters’ actions deepen the readers’ understanding of the characters’ failing relationship. Furthermore‚ the baby’s crying‚ as the parents struggle over it illustrates a child’s suffering during a fight. The physical confrontation suggests a tearing of the relationship. When the characters are fighting‚ the reader can almost see
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In Raymond Carver’s "Cathedral"‚ the narrator has composed an opinion solely on rumors and speculation. Before forming an opinion on something or someone people need to seek further information and consider other perspectives in order to construct a final decision. An opinion should not be based on generalized information because preconceived notions can be dangerous and have many negative consequences. Throughout life‚ people receive many stories‚ rumors‚ etc that can only show the positives to
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Raymond Carver’s “Mine” and “Little Things” seem no different when they are only read once and the history of the author is a mystery. During that first reading it is even possible to begin to question and wonder why the short story was printed three times‚ with three different titles: “Mine‚” “Popular Mechanics‚” and finally “Little Things”. The differences are between the first and second publications “Mine” and “Popular Mechanics.” The third publication “Little Things” is different from “Popular
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