Abstract Raymond Carver‚ being a famous American short story writer in the 20th century‚ was often labeled as a minimalist writer. However‚ his “Cathedral” was nothing like his previous stories. With no extraneous words‚ Carver expressed his unique worldview and vision in “Cathedral”. This essay will examine the text from four different perspectives: sight and insight‚ names and downplay of individuality‚ dialogues between characters‚ and the growth of narrator‚ which are all related to
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Irony is a strategy writers use to set contrast between what is supposed to be true and what is reality‚ just as in verbal irony‚ an author might say or write one thing and at the same time mean the complete opposite. In the story by Frank R. Stockton "The Lady‚ or the Tiger?" the author used verbal irony to help us realize the absurdity of the king’s idea of judgment and the real intentions and ideas of other characters. Several ironic statements are presented in the story. Sentence fragments such
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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
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blind man” who he was bothered by because of his blindness (Carver 473). He states openly that he does not look forward to him visiting‚ and that all he really knows about blind people is from movies‚ which is that they move slowly‚ are unable to laugh‚ and that on occasion are led by seeing-eye dogs (Carver 473). When he speaks to his wife about Robert’s wife‚ a woman named Beulah‚ he makes the statement “was his wife a Negro?” (Carver 475) and wonders curiously how the whole idea of a marriage
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story between Jim and Della‚ which is transfigured by O.Henry’s unrivalled flowery language‚ academic and belles-letters style‚ and his superb ironical tone. At the end of the story‚ readers will only be able to say “How ironical their life is!” “The irony of life” in “The Gift of the Magi” is presented through a story of love and sacrifice between a young couple‚ Jim and Della‚ who are poor materially but not poor spiritually. They always live happily in a poor living condition. Their happiness is
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extreme. “Popular Mechanics‚” written by Raymond Carver‚ is a concise story in which a man and woman go through a separation. The process of their separation brings out their incessantly blatant resentment toward each other. The result of the couple’s tensions is selfish behavior. To develop the theme of selfishness‚ Raymond Carver portrayed the relationship between the man and woman as a competition between rivals‚ and displayed them as unsympathetic. Carver explicates the couple’s relationship as analogous
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Realism and Minimalism comparing “Cathedral” and Summer Interior Both Raymond Carver and Edward Hopper show qualities of realism and minimalism in the short story “Cathedral” by Carver and in the painting Summer Interior‚ 1909 by Hopper. The moods and characters relate to both the short story and the painting. Dirty-realism was shown in the short story by Carver he shows disappointment and truths that the character’s face. Realism is different in art Hopper showed accurate‚ detailed‚ unembellished
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1 English 110 30 July 2014 Loneliness is an attitude An attitude of loneliness is what the characters in Carver‚ Shepard and Duras’s stories have chosen as a way of life. Marguerite Duras chooses loneliness in her characters solely due to love‚ while Carver and Shepard’s characters choose an attitude of loneliness transpired from alcoholism and disappointment in love. Loneliness‚ an outcome of alcoholism can lead to lack of motivation to improve oneself. The lack of motivation in Carver’s
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descriptive words with negative connotation; “This blind man was late forties‚ a heavy-set‚ balding man with stooped shoulders‚ as if he carried a great weight there. He wore brown slacks‚ brown shoes‚ a light-brown shirt‚ a tie‚ a sports coat. Spiffy” (Carver‚ 5). The narrator’s description‚ not only subconsciously affects his feelings towards Robert‚ but also affects the opinions of the readers. Instead of allowing the readers to develop an opinion of their own‚ the narrator’s bias has created one. The
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Popular Mechanics the author‚ Raymond Carver‚ uses painstaking details‚ numerous symbols‚ and an unusual title to convey the universal theme that not all relationships end happily. Carver uses all these things to his advantage. He brings out the theme of this depressing‚ but truthful story. Many couples these days experience the same thing that this one in particular went through. "Early that day the weather turned and the snow was melting into dirty water." Carver starts off the story in this way.
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