Katie Young
Peyer
ENGL 1302
15 11 2016
Research Paper: Cathedral Raymond Carver’s story “Cathedral” is about a blind man named Robert who visits a woman friend, married to another man. The protagonist in the story is the narrator himself. This story reveals the lives of two blind men, one physically and the other one symbolically blind. This story mainly focuses on the narrator. Narrator’s mesmerizes not only reveal his flaws, but also his perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes towards people and relationships. His perceptions cannot fully he described as wrong but as unfavorable to the general well-being of the society. The character portrays himself as one who looks at people and the world in carless and immature matter. However, despite …show more content…
The narrator draws a cathedral with Robert shows the honest vision, the strength to see above the exterior to the true meaning that lies within. When the narrator tries to define the cathedral that was displayed on television, he understands that he does not have the words to explain. The narrator closes his eyes as he and Robert taking their time to draw the cathedral. The narrator finds himself dragged in, by adding details and people to make the picture complete. After the drawing of the cathedral was finished; the narrator has opened a door for himself into a deeper hole in his own world, where he can see beyond what is instantly clear. Robert and the narrator’s wife uses the audiotapes to communicate to each other back and forth to show the kind of understanding and compassion without using sight. When the narrator listens a bit of Robert’s tape, the narrator says it sounds only like “innocent chattering,” not realizing that this style of loving communication is indeed what his own marriage lacks. According to Cornwell Gareth, “The most important relationships are not between social superiors and inferiors but between peers, even though these are rarely experienced as relationships of ‘equality”’ (Gareth …show more content…
Delusion represents in this story, the narrator does not meet the intensity of his loneliness. Yet, he turns his sadness towards others, attaching people mentally. It is not until Robert pushes himself into the narrator’s life that the narrator understands he is lonely and desperately seeks more from life. Isolation/Loneliness represents in this story, the narrator gives Robert credit for anything is when the narrator accepts that he is finally happy to have company in his home. Robert shows the narrator the amusement of freedom and quality, the bliss of feeling part of the world outside of himself. Inaction represents in this story, the insight comes when the narrator, a man who chooses to live in the front of the television ignoring the rest of his life, finally takes action to create something for himself. Robert leads the narrator to take action towards being a part of the greater world, to overstep his loneliness. Detachment/Disaffection from oneself represents in this story, the narrator hides behind mockery and meanness when he is truly wants to be connected to the world around him. The narrator is entirely unaware of the depth of his problems, until Robert leads him to look inside himself and finally to see how that leads him into a greater togetherness with the world. Alcoholism represents in this story, the narrator drinks alcohol
Peyer
ENGL 1302
15 11 2016
Research Paper: Cathedral Raymond Carver’s story “Cathedral” is about a blind man named Robert who visits a woman friend, married to another man. The protagonist in the story is the narrator himself. This story reveals the lives of two blind men, one physically and the other one symbolically blind. This story mainly focuses on the narrator. Narrator’s mesmerizes not only reveal his flaws, but also his perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes towards people and relationships. His perceptions cannot fully he described as wrong but as unfavorable to the general well-being of the society. The character portrays himself as one who looks at people and the world in carless and immature matter. However, despite …show more content…
The narrator draws a cathedral with Robert shows the honest vision, the strength to see above the exterior to the true meaning that lies within. When the narrator tries to define the cathedral that was displayed on television, he understands that he does not have the words to explain. The narrator closes his eyes as he and Robert taking their time to draw the cathedral. The narrator finds himself dragged in, by adding details and people to make the picture complete. After the drawing of the cathedral was finished; the narrator has opened a door for himself into a deeper hole in his own world, where he can see beyond what is instantly clear. Robert and the narrator’s wife uses the audiotapes to communicate to each other back and forth to show the kind of understanding and compassion without using sight. When the narrator listens a bit of Robert’s tape, the narrator says it sounds only like “innocent chattering,” not realizing that this style of loving communication is indeed what his own marriage lacks. According to Cornwell Gareth, “The most important relationships are not between social superiors and inferiors but between peers, even though these are rarely experienced as relationships of ‘equality”’ (Gareth …show more content…
Delusion represents in this story, the narrator does not meet the intensity of his loneliness. Yet, he turns his sadness towards others, attaching people mentally. It is not until Robert pushes himself into the narrator’s life that the narrator understands he is lonely and desperately seeks more from life. Isolation/Loneliness represents in this story, the narrator gives Robert credit for anything is when the narrator accepts that he is finally happy to have company in his home. Robert shows the narrator the amusement of freedom and quality, the bliss of feeling part of the world outside of himself. Inaction represents in this story, the insight comes when the narrator, a man who chooses to live in the front of the television ignoring the rest of his life, finally takes action to create something for himself. Robert leads the narrator to take action towards being a part of the greater world, to overstep his loneliness. Detachment/Disaffection from oneself represents in this story, the narrator hides behind mockery and meanness when he is truly wants to be connected to the world around him. The narrator is entirely unaware of the depth of his problems, until Robert leads him to look inside himself and finally to see how that leads him into a greater togetherness with the world. Alcoholism represents in this story, the narrator drinks alcohol