The Narrator In Raymond Carver's Cathedral

Words: 2323
Pages: 10
Open Document
Amidst the muffled sounds of passengers, and my own heart beating feverishly in my ears, I could feel my nerves stirring a mass of fear within me. Sitting ramrod in my seat, my eyes widened with bewilderment, darted left to right searching for a familiar face, but it had seen none. The fear and confusion brimming within me were palpable, and in my panic, my small hands had gone to clench the arms of a woman beside me. And with that action, I had formed a human connection I would never forget. On that plane, the older woman whose hand I had grasped benevolently coaxed away all my anxieties with her words. She spoke to me of things that have long since faded from my memory, but the encounter alone has left me with a true understanding of the …show more content…
In the minimalist short story, the passive unlikeable narrator’s unexpected connection with a blind man named Robert pushes him to undergo a mystical transformation. A slightly similar mystical transformation earned from human connection is explored in Herman Melville’s 1853 short story “Bartleby: The Scrivener.” After the lawyer’s unexpected encounter with Bartleby, his perspective changes. The lawyer, like the narrator from “Cathedral,” undergoes a mystical transformation. After encountering Bartleby, he is enlightened. By characterizing the narrator as an unlikeable, passive protagonist incapable of connecting, and by exposing the mystical transformations the narrator and the lawyer (in “Bartleby: The Scrivener”) underwent after their profound human connections, this essay seeks to prove how impactful and important—unexpected—human connections are to one’s character development. Furthermore, this essay underscores the notion that profound human connections can occur unexpectedly and from unexpected sources, as seen in the narrator’s quiet epiphany during his connection with Robert. The narrator is no longer the same passive, unlikeable protagonist; he has
Show More

Related Documents: The Narrator In Raymond Carver's Cathedral

Raymond Carver's The Narrator Of The Cathedral

The Narrator of the Cathedral began the short story narrow minded regarding his wife and the blind man she had once taken care of. The blind man was going to be a guest in his house because his wife had passed. He did not seem mean just sceptical about the relationship the blind man and his wife had. She was exceptionally close to him, told this man every detail about her life, and always kept him updated on everything. The blind man requested tapes from Carver’s wife. She sent them regularly which…

Words 374 - Pages 2

The Symbolism Of The Narrator In Raymond Carver's Cathedral

something, I said “(Carver, p.267). Raymond Carver unique story Cathedral brings out the inscrutable meaning of how people look at life. The narrator in this short story faces the reality of seeing the deeper sense of things versus looking at the physical sense. The narrator one of the major character in the story is affected by the friendship of a blind man named Robert and his wife. The narrator opposes everything that is said or did by Robert. Carver allows the narrator to undertake the challenge of…

Words 998 - Pages 4

The Role Of The Narrator In Raymond Carver's Cathedral

world. The Narrator, in the short story “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver, undergoes a revelation about his life, provided by Robert, a blind man. Throughout the story the narrator undergoes a transformation from a stale husband, living a humdrum life, into a man who truly acknowledges his life and the beauty of understanding. The narrator, in the beginning, is presented with a situation, brought on by his wife, a blind man will be their guest eating, sleeping, and interacting with the narrator and his…

Words 566 - Pages 3

Cathedral Rhetorical Devices

David Wallace’s “Kenyon Commencement Address” and Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral” are similar and different in some ways. First, they both use rhetorical devices to build their arguments and deliver their messages to the audiences. The only distinction between them is the types of rhetorical devices that they used. For example, in Wallace’s Commencement Address, he used multiple parables and anecdotes to teach college graduates that they should adjust their “natural default setting” because everyone…

Words 355 - Pages 2

Raymond Carver Cathedral

“Cathedral”, written by American author Raymond Carver, is a story about a discontent husband and his encounter with a blind man that makes a visit to the husband’s home. Set some time during the 60’s or 70’s in a New York City home, the husband, who is also the narrator, first introduces to the reader the story of the blind man named Robert and his relationship with the narrator’s wife. The wife first met the blind man ten years prior to the story when she worked for him one summer by organizing…

Words 1034 - Pages 5

The Theme Of Blindness In Raymond Carver's Cathedral

Raymond Carver who is the author of the short story “Cathedral” is widely known for his writings of common life issues that are seldom perceived. Within “Cathedral”, a blind man named Robert visits an old friend and her husband. The husband, who is the narrator of this particular story tells this story flatly from his point of view. Based on Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral,” the overall theme of blindness is prevalent within Robert’s life as well as the narrator’s because it symbolizes the difference…

Words 464 - Pages 2

Reawakening Robert, Revealing Raymond Essay

2014 Reawakening Robert, Revealing Raymond "The Cathedral", authored by Raymond Carver, first introduces the narrator, who employs the role of the emotionally grotesque bigot, then scribes in Robert, the man who serves as the agent of change throughout the text. Carver, reveals early on that the narrator is an anti-hero and Robert, though blind, is a man that can see life well beyond the people around him. Opposite to Robert the narrator often dismisses the idea of pondering his…

Words 1254 - Pages 6

Human Physical Appearance and Raymond Carver Essay

Amy Sullivan Dr. Anne Pluto CLTR 3337 3 August 2015 Theme in “Cathedral” (P1) “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” “Beauty is only skin deep.” “Looking is not seeing.” These ubiquitous maxims are present everywhere in our culture; they are found decorating the front of greeting cards, hanging on school walls, and rolling off the tongues of parents as they impart values to their children. The omnipresence of these sayings in our society lies in stark contrast to what is actually practiced within it…

Words 879 - Pages 4

Reality In Hemingway's Cathedral

Cathedral" looks at the unstable nature of reality. For example, the unnamed narrator's reality, or his vision of Robert, a blind man, is based on images from the movies about blind people, his wife's descriptions, and Robert's voice on tape. When the narrator meets Robert for the first time, the reality of Robert, for the narrator, changes. This reality continues to change throughout the night as they get to know each other better. The story's ending suggests that by the end of the night, the narrator…

Words 159 - Pages 1

Imagery And Symbolism In Raymond Carver's Cathedral

In Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral,” the most intriguing symbols and references in the story seem to be almost biblical. From communion to rebirth, Carver transforms the narrator from judgmental to empathetic. Robert, the blind man, serves almost as a God figure; he appears at the couple’s house for a reunion that quickly becomes a baptism and renewing experience for all the characters involved. At his arrival, Robert encounters the judgmental views that the husband has made because of “movies.” Yet…

Words 226 - Pages 1