In the short story “Cathedral”‚ by Raymond Carver‚ the narrator’s wife has a blind friend who is coming to visit them at their house. The narrator (also known as the husband) is unhappy with this because the old man’s disability makes him feel very uncomfortable. However‚ the more the husband interacts with the blind man‚ the more he learns to overlook his blindness and accept him as a normal human being. Through characterization and symbolism‚ Carver proves that seeing people as individuals rather
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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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Through the Eyes of the Blind in Cathedral by Raymond Carver You can never seem to know what’s going on in another ones life‚ unless you put your feet in there shoes‚ so to judge‚ is simply ignorance. Raymond Carver’s "Cathedral" is a story about how the narrator is uncomfortable with having his wife’s blind friend‚ Robert‚ over. Roger has lost his wife‚ and to cope with her death‚ he planned to visit the narrator’s wife. Without any knowledge whatsoever on how to act in accompany towards a blind
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In his short story titled simply ’Elephant’‚ Raymond Carver focuses on the elephant both literally and figuratively. Literally‚ when the author used the word elephant as the title for his short story‚ he made me think of the narrator in the story as hardworking because elephants are hardworking creatures. The narrator works hard to earn a living and takes his responsibilities seriously. Also‚ the author could have used the word elephant to bring attention to the phrase elephant in the room which
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Amanda Gazaway Professor Macklin Cowart English 1102 10 September 2014 “Cathedral”: The Importance of Transformation in the Characters In “Cathedral‚” Raymond Carver drastically creates changes within his characters that bring them closer together throughout each experience. The pertaining metamorphoses begin by being utilized as simple icebreakers but eventually commence an everlasting bond between the narrator and the blind man‚ Robert. Character development is important because it allows
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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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when the man and woman escalate their actions to an inappropriate 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
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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
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In Raymond Carver’s Cathedral‚ perspective is the main tool used to characterize the speaker and those around him. The speaker’s misconceptions regarding the other main characters drives the story forward‚ acting as a catalyst for the story’s plot. Because the speaker is describing what he sees‚ and only reveals his own thoughts‚ the point of view is first person limited. Carver’s use of the first person limited point of view greatly contributes to the climax of the story‚ and is imperative in understanding
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The story "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver is about one man’s understanding and acceptance of a blind man. The narrator represents the story’s dominant theme of overcoming prejudice of the blind through personal experience as well as mutual respect. The narrator‚ who remains nameless‚ holds deeply unfounded beliefs and stereotypes of what a blind person should be‚ yet over a relatively short period of time he develops a bond with the blind man‚ whom at first he privately mocked. The narrator’s preconceived
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