Raymond Carver's Short Story Cathedral

Raymond Carver was born on May 1938 and is the author of many famous short stories, one of his most known texts is called “Cathedral” (Britannica.com). Carver is known for speaking about the hardships of the working poor through his writings (Britannca.com). He himself faced many obstacles in life, one being alcoholism. Although this was a hard thing to conquer, he was able to move on and soon began teaching at the University of Texas at El Paso where he continued to share his personal life stories.
In the short story there are several characters. There is the author, Robert, who is blind and the narrator who is the husband of Roberts’s best friend. At the beginning of the text the audience notices that the narrator’s wife and Robert once …show more content…
Robert asks the narrator to describe what exactly was being shown. For the first time the title of the short story is brought up. The narrator must describe the cathedral. With much thought, the word “cathedral” might be a symbol that helps out with the tone of the text. Many readers know that a cathedral is a church with beautiful architecture. Normally when people see this type of church they stand in such awe of the sight which they see. If we compare the blind man and all of the amazing things he is capable of doing regardless of his disability to the cathedral which is filled with hope and faith we see a great comparison. Throughout the story the blind man helps the narrator see what is most important to him. The narrator is blind from his soul and the author is making him feel again, because he is blind he is able to see much more than one can imagine. All the narrator has to do is close his eyes. They say that when you close your eyes all the other senses you poses are heightened. However, when people see someone with a disability, they automatically assume that they are less than any other person. This point is one of the key ideas that we see throughout the short story “Cathedral”. This idea that, because one is blind they are disabled and unable to go on with life’s challenges. With this title the readers are able to gather all of this …show more content…
The story starts with the narrator being “blind” to his life and surroundings and as the story progresses the readers watch him change and realize what he is missing in his life. In this short story, the blind man does much more than just make the narrator realize that having a disability does not make you a lesser person, “the blind man gives him a faculty of sight that he is not even aware that he lacks” (Facknitz 293). The text begins with a very stereotypical, even sarcastic tone at the beginning of the story and ends with a great life lesson. At the end of all the judging the narrator finally sees what kind of person he has been for the majority of his life. He soon understands that it is not about the disabilities one has, but about the spirit that one carries inside of them. The ability to listen, understand, and put the judgments takes much more than just two eyes that can see the physical things. “Cathedral” helps the readers see that it takes eyes which can see the things beyond a physical appearance to have a full understanding of the people around