What does the Cathedral symbolize?
The cathedral that the narrator draws with Robert represents true sight, the ability to see beyond the surface to the true meaning that lies within. Before the narrator draws the cathedral, his world is simple: he can see, and Robert cannot.
What is the message of the Cathedral?
In Cathedral by Raymond Carver we have the theme of jealousy, insecurity, isolation, detachment and connection. Taken from his collection of the same name the story is narrated in the first person by an unnamed man and from the beginning of the story the reader realises how detached the narrator is.
What kind of person is the narrator in Cathedral?
The protagonist and narrator of Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral” is a middle-aged unnamed man. Through interior monologue, the narrator shows himself to be cynical and insensitive, especially to the poetry written by his wife.
How does the narrator describe the Cathedral to Robert?
When the narrator draws a cathedral with Robert and closes his eyes, he has an epiphany during which he can see more than he ever could with his eyes open. As a result, his description of the cathedral takes on a more human element, which liberates the narrator and allows him to truly see for the first time.
What is the irony in cathedral?
Renowned author, Raymond Carver, skillfully weaves dramatic and situational irony throughout his short stories, Cathedral, Neighbors, and They’re Not Your Husband. Situational irony is when the opposite of what is expected to happen occurs. In Cathedral and They ‘re Not Your Husband, situational irony is amply evident.
What does blindness symbolize in cathedral?
In “Cathedral,” blindness has a two-fold meaning. It represents both Robert’s lack of sight and the narrator’s more intangible failures of perception: his inability to understand other people’s feelings and his inability to find meaning or joy in his life.
What is the story the Cathedral about?
“Cathedral” is a short story by Raymond Carver that describes the narrator’s initial jealousy of and eventual bonding with a blind man named Robert. When Robert comes to dinner, the narrator grows jealous of their friendship. After dinner, the three talk, and Robert shares his marijuana with the narrator.
What is the conflict in the story Cathedral?
In Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral,” the relationship between the narrator and his wife is one of distanced silence and isolation. This is caused by the narrator’s constant drinking and smoking of marijuana as well as his wife’s responses to feelings of loneliness.
Why is the narrator so hostile to the blind man?
The narrator is so hostile to the idea of a visit from Robert because he is blinded by jealousy, anger, and confusion. The narrator does not address Robert by his full name, he address him “this” blind man instead of a blind man.
How does the blind man in Cathedral impact the narrator’s perspective?
Carver’s use of a first-person narrator is especially effective in these scenes because it makes Robert seem abnormal, even alien, because the narrator has no concept of what a blind man can and cannot do. Likewise, once Robert becomes more human for the narrator, he takes shape for us as well.
What is the narrator’s attitude toward his wife in Cathedral?
The narrator is extremely focused on his wife throughout the story, and seems grounded in the role of husband. While he doesn’t seem happy in his marriage, he does seem to love and admire his wife. He tells us the intimate details of her life, but he doesn’t tell us anything that would make us not like her.
What makes the narrator’s comments about the marriage in Cathedral ironic?
They were devoted to each other—“inseparable,” the wife says. What’s ironic about the narrator’s observation is that he himself can see, yet he fails to make his own wife happy. The narrator assumes that he is more capable of making his own wife happy than Robert simply because he can see.