The “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver is a story about the narrator‚ his wife and his wife’s friend Robert‚ who is a blind man that she used to work for as a reader about ten years ago. They were able to keep in touch by mailing tapes to each other. Robert’ wife just died so he was coming for dinner and was going to spend the night at their house after visiting some relatives. The narrator‚ who lack social skills‚ was not so thrilled about entertaining a blind man and was a little jealous about his
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In “Cathedral” the author focuses on the narrator’s reality. In the beginning the narrator based his vision of Robert the blind man‚ on images he has seen in movies. The narrator uses his wife’s descriptions‚ the tapes‚ and his vision of Robert to get to know Robert. The narrator’s wife met Robert one summer in Seattle when she needed a job. On her last day of work the blind man touched her face. She tried to write a poem about it because this was something that was really important to her. She
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During the beginning of this course‚ we read several works of literature‚ one being the “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver‚ An American short-storyteller and poet. The narrator in this story realizes the capability he has of focusing on something that has never been important to him. The story leaves us with a small sense of optimism that the narrator will change the way he views his life. Because the blind man was not an important person to the narrator‚ the narrator made his own impression of him. This
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He was married twice‚ struggled with drugs and alcoholism‚ and was an unsuccessful writer early on in his career. It was not until his publication of “Cathedral” that he gained success. Carver even believed that “Cathedral was a watershed in his career‚ in its shift towards a more optimistic and confidently poetic style” (Arciniegas). “Cathedral” starts out slow‚ spending most of the short story on the back story of the narrator’s wife and a blind man. The story progresses with the three characters
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view in “Cathedral” determine the plot? What it means to “see” another frequently depends on the maturity level of the viewer. This point is powerfully made by Raymond Carver in his short story “Cathedral” about a man who is navigating life “blind”‚ despite having normal vision. Carver tells his story using the husband’s point of view as the husband meets his wife’s long time friend‚ Robert‚ a man who ‚ despite being physically blind‚ sees life clearly. The point of view in “Cathedral” greatly
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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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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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1/23/14 Comparative Literary Analysis Performance Task Allegory of the Cathedral As the philospoher Seneca once said‚ “It is the power of the mind to be unconquerable.” Raymond Carver’s Cathedral is a story about a man who started out as a closed-minded man but‚ throughout the story his character changes as he begins to bond with his wife’s friend‚ Robert‚ a man who is blind. Plato’s Allegory of the cave is a story about a prisoner who is freed from being locked in chains living all of
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and so blind people have to cope to become part of society. They have to depend on their other senses to be able to explore the world around them. However‚ the good thing is that they learn to use their other senses better than other people do. Cathedral‚ by Raymond Carver‚ is set in an early stage when the industry is switching from black and white to colored television. The story took place in Narrator’s house when his wife invited an old friend to visit their home for one night. The wife’s old
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The narrator is describing what happened in his house. From this we discuss the characterization of this short story. I will be discussing the narrator’s friendship with his wife and the blind man. The narrator is someone who is not friendly. Even his wife confirms it by telling him; “you do not have friends. Period.” I will then discuss how the narrator changes in his relationship status as the story end. There was dissatisfaction of friendship at the beginning of the short story. The narrator
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