Cathedral's Lesson of Empathy and Connection

Raymond Carver Cathedral Summary
Underneath the basic plot line of "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver is a story about a man's battles
with himself. He is insecure in his relationship with his wife, has stereotypes about people that
need to be broken, and he is cold and distant in all relationships that are seen in the short story. The
main character, "Bub", is telling what is believed to be an honest story from the first person
perspective. In most stories, the main character is the protagonist and is liked and respected by the
readers, but in "Cathedral", Bub is neither liked nor respected because of his judgmental notions and
his cold side with his wife and guest. In most stories, the reader expects to like and understand the
protagonist from the beginning, but
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The Cathedral By Raymond Carver Essay
"Cathedral" Born on May 25, 1938 in Clatskanie, Oregon, Raymond Carver was destined to be a
writer. He was a son of a sawmill worker and grew up working hard majority of his life. He
married year after he finished high school and had two children with his wife at the time. He
raised and supported his children with normal working class jobs such as delivering, janitorial
and gas station services. Carver discovered his interest in writing after taking a creative writing
course in college in 1958. His first success was in 1967 from the story "Will You Please Be Quiet,
Please?" and ended up becoming a fulltime writer after losing his job at the time. He drank heavily
and had problems with alcoholism around the same time, but he shortly recovered from that and
started teaching at the University of Texas at El Paso and Syracuse University. A few years later in
1983 he won a literary award which made him focus on his full–time writing. His short story
collection consisted of "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love," "Cathedral," and
"Where I'm Calling from." In his short stories he mostly wrote about the everyday lives most
experienced and problems of the poor, broken marriages, and financial problems. He died at the age
of 50 of lung cancer but his stories continue to live on. For my first paper I will be analyzing
"Cathedral" by Raymond Carver. In "Cathedral" Carver uses setting, characterization, and also
symbolism to reveal that the narrator is blind, even

Raymond Carver Cathedral Essay
A cathedral is known to be a place where a person performs religious practices in the light of one or
more deities. Cathedrals can connect people who share the same beliefs by gathering them all
together; the same goes for any religion. In the short story, "Cathedral," written by Raymond Carver,
the controlling image is a cathedral, as it is repetitive from becoming the title of the story to the main
symbol through the entirety of the narration. Carver makes an appeal to emphasize that – through
the story's plot, his style of writing, the captivating use of imagery, and the overall theme of the story
– a simple building can shed some light on how one chooses to view the world.
The tale's events unfold by starting with an unnamed narrator "telling...show more content...
The rising action begins as the wife prepares dinner, and subtly points out to the narrator that he is
detached and disconnected from the world around him, even saying that "You don't have any
friends" (Carver, p. 475). When Robert arrives, he catches up with the narrator's wife, as the
narrator inputs his own opinions every once in a while. The narrator takes in Robert's appearance,
and surprisingly concludes that he was not a stereotypical blind man with dark glasses and a cane.
The trio then "drink heavily and eat a large dinner" (Akers). After the feast, the narrator rudely
switches on the television, much to his wife's dismay, and avoids making conversation with Robert.
The wife leaves the room, and the narrator and Robert bond with a mutual interest in cannabis. A
climactic documentary over cathedrals appears on the television, as the wife returns and falls
asleep on the couch. The narrator attempts to describe to the blind man what he sees on the
television; however, he struggles and is "unable to find the words to describe a cathedral" (Akers).
He admits that "cathedrals do not mean anything special to him" (Stern). Through the falling action
of the story, Robert asks the narrator to get some paper and a pen so

`` Cathedral `` By Raymond Carver
"Cathedral" is a short story that was written by Raymond Carver in 1981. Raymond Carver is
most well known for his short stories and is even an writer credited with reviving the then dying
form of literature. A part of a collection of short stories, "Cathedral" was the last to be published
and was included in 1982's Best American Short Stories. "Cathedral is different from the other
works of Carver due to the humanistic realism that is given to his characters, which had not been
seen before in his works. This shift earned Carver the critical success he always wanted and
"Cathedral" became his most famous work. "Cathedral" is Carver's most revered work of
literature and is due mostly in part to his shift in style with his storytelling. The story follows the
narrator and his wife who has invited her old friend to stay at their home because his wife has just
passed away. The friend, Robert, is blind and the narrator's wife worked for him as a reader ten
years prior. They remained close and kept in touch by sending audiotapes to one another, recounting
what was going on in their lives. Robert's blindness makes the narrator uncomfortable and he does
not look forward to his visit, even though it is quite important to his wife. The three spend a
somewhat awkward evening together and the narrator become more comfortable with Robert as the
night progresses and as his wife falls asleep. The narrator gains some compassion for Robert and
attempts to describe what the cathedral on the

Cathedral (by Raymond Carver)
Cathedral: A Lesson for the Ages
Raymond Carver 's short story, "Cathedral," portrays a story in which many in today 's society can
relate. We are introduced from the first sentence of the story to a man that seems to be perturbed
and agitated. As readers, we are initially unsure to the reasoning 's behind the man 's discomfort.
The man, who seems to be a direct portrayal of Raymond Carver himself, shows his ignorance by
stereotyping a blind man by the name of Robert, who has come to stay with he and his wife. From
the very beginning, Carver shows his detest for Robert but over the course of the story eases into
comfort with him and in the end is taught a lesson from the very one he despised.
The story begins with a description of...show more content...
"That 's alright," he says, "I 'm glad for the company." The two then focus their attention to the
television and some middle age show about cathedrals. It is this show from which the author gets the
name of this short story, "Cathedral". It also is relevant because it gives the blind man the
opportunity to share with Carver his state of mind.
The blind man sees the TV show as a way for him to express his views to Carver. After inquiring
into the show, Robert asks Carver to simply explain what the Cathedral 's look like. Carver does
this but soon realizes that he is not doing a very good job. "I 'm not doing so good am I." This
doesn 't work so Robert then asks the author if would mind drawing one with him. Carver agrees
and leaves to gather supplies. Before long, he returns and they begin their project. We at this
point the strong change in interaction between the two characters. The blind man diligently
places his hand on that of Carver and they draw, together. The two are intently drawing the
cathedral when Robert asks Carver to keep drawing but with his eyes closed too. He obeys and
continues this is the climax of the story for Carver now briefly gets a glimpse of what it is like to
live with the ailment of blindness. He is temporarily awed at the feeling for it is one he has
obviously never experienced. "It ' really something", he says (515)
Although it took this lesson, Carver

Cathedral Raymond Carver
Man Vu
Mr. Sharp
Comp. 1
13 Ferbuary 2017
Cathedral: An annotated bibliography
McManus, Dermot. "Cathedral by Raymond Carver." The Sitting Bee, The Sitting Bee, 25 Dec.
2013, sittingbee.com/cathedral–raymond–carver/. Accessed 9 Feb. 2017.
This review of the short story Cathedral by Raymond Carver is very insightful. The author points out
the theme of the story right from the beginning. The theme includes jealousy, insecurity, isolation,
detachment, and connection. Then the author begins to break–down the symbolism of each sense in
the story that Carver uses to create a deeper level of meaning in his story. For example, when
Robert asks the narrator to describe a cathedral for him, the narrator is unable to think of anything to
say and couldn't...show more content...
His second hypothesis following the first one by saying that the cathedral is the most glorious
man–made sight someone could witness. The last hypothesis we get from the creator is that the
cathedral is quiet and peaceful place. Without any conclusion, the creator ended the video with an
open question "What was the reason that Carver went with a cathedral?" This ending has left a huge
question in everyone who watches the video, but it is also a great way to force those watchers to
come up with their own conclusion from what they have learned from the

Essay on The Cathedral by Raymond Carver
"Cathedral" is a short story ultimately about enlightment, finding something more meaningful and
deeper with in one self. Although from an observing point of view nothing more in the story
happens then a blind man assisting the narrator in drawing a cathedral. Although as known, the
narrator's experience radically differs from what is actually "observed". He is enlightened and
opened up to a new world of vision and imagination. This brief experience will have a life long
effect on him. The reason for this strong and positive effect is not so much the relationship made
between the blind man and the narrator or even the actual events leading up to this experience, but
rather it is mostly due to what was drawn by the narrator. A...show more content...
His further ignorance about the blind are focused in on Robert since he is aware of his upcoming
visit. Hearing the marriage stories about Robert from his wife the narrator cannot realize how a
woman could love a blind man, "It was beyond my understanding. Hearing this, I felt sorry for the
blind man for a little bit. And then I found myself thinking what a pitiful life this women must have
led" (508). This ignorance and immature understanding of relationships overshadows his attitude
toward Roberts visit, unwanted and condescending. His attitude toward the blind man seems to
change though before and furtherly during the connection they make as they draw the cathedral
together. Although there is no evidence that the narrator's overall ignorances and prejudices are
gone from the experience, it is very clear however that he does come to some sort of revelation
and enlightment, "My eyes were still closed. I was in my house. I knew that. But I didn't feel like I
was inside anything" (515). Because what the narrator draws is a cathedral it is only assumable that
this enlightment that the narrator experiences has to do with values of Christianity, in this case it
would be a realization of equality and treating people with love, little is said about the effects this
revelation has on him. The narrator through out most of the short story comes of as a pretty shallow
character. Besides his stereotyping tendencies he comes of as callous and un–imaginative. He shows
his lack of

An Analysis Of 'Cathedral' By Raymond Carver
Cathedral Research Paper
The short story "Cathedral", by Raymond Carver, is a thought provoking piece that focuses on the
transition a man goes through to see the world with his soul. The story gives hope that people can
change if given the chance to be better people. Over the course of the story, Carver uses both diction
and description to explore themes in religion and morality.
"Cathedral" depicts a husband and a wife as they prepare and entertain a friend of the wife. The
husband, the narrator, is not excited about the friend coming because he is blind. The blind man and
the wife have been friends for longer than the husband has known the wife creating a complex and
slightly jealous dynamic between the three characters. For the...show more content...
By accepting and ingesting the Eucharist Catholics are promising to live as persons of Jesus and love
everyone. This description demonstrates the irony present because the narrator does not live as a
person of Jesus and does not love the blind man for who he is. Just like the bread is transformed in
mass however, the main character's heart is transformed by the end of the story.
The use of diction also aids in the exploration of the religious theme. Carver's choice to use the
word cathedral is a religious word that connects the two men. As discussed in his article High
Visibility, author Peter Middleton discusses the importance of the story using a cathedral to draw
the two men closer to one another. He states that "... [the cathedral] is not there simply to be see,"
meaning that there is more to the cathedral than just what is seen. In Catholicism, cathedrals are
very ornate places of worship, yet the beauty of the building is not what is most important. The
functional use of a cathedral is to bring people together through prayer and worship. Similarly, the
cathedral on the television in the story brings the two men together and breaks down the barriers
between them. Only the narrator is able to see and appreciate the beauty of the cathedral but both
men are able to gain an understanding and appreciation of each other by drawing the cathedral.
Another theme in "Cathedral" is morality. In

Raymond Carver Cathedral
When the journey of pursuing the process of writing this research paper on "Cathedral" by
Raymond Carver began weeks ago, I was overwhelmed and my anxiety kicked in. It had been
many years since I last did a research paper. My writing was kind of rusty. I remembered how in
the past, the research process was done physically at a library, using index cards to find the sources
you wanted. Then, you would have to go to these tall shelves of books to pick out what you were
looking for and then go through stacks of books, newspapers, and magazines to search for the
information needed. Oh, how things have changed. It is infinitely more efficient to conduct research
since the invention of the internet. We've become much more resourceful through the use of
technology and most of the research is now done online on...show more content...
During my meeting with the librarian on campus, she was able to teach me how to use the
academic databases to find information related to my topic. As I dedicated more time to reading
information on the different sources found on the story and on Raymond Carver's life, my interest
increased and my anxiety slowly decreased, making the experience more pleasant and enjoyable.
Through the process of researching and preparing to write this paper, it is apparent that emotions tend
to lend themselves to reaffirming our prejudices, yet when we closely analyze individual
experiences, we can better come to rational conclusions regardless of preconceived notions. Life
is a learning experience but sometimes these lessons come from people and places we would least
expect them to. While reading the short story "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver, I soon realized
cathedrals were not going to be the main focus of the story. Rather, it was about the narrator
discovering new perspectives on life and shattering prejudices, with the help of a man who couldn't
even see. My initial expectation came from the title. I expected that the story would be based on
religion or

Cathedral By Raymond Carver Summary
Summary "Cathedral", a short story by Raymond Carver, centers around a blind man's visit to a
couple's home. In the beginning, Carver elaborates a bit on who the blind is and how he
stumbled into the lives of the two characters. Early in the women's life, she was married to an Air
Force officer. While he was away at his school or training, she became quite lonely and sought
employment. She began working as a blind man named Robert's companion in which she read
books, journals, and articles to him as well as just talking with him and keeping him company.
They developed a very good friendship, almost too good, however shortly after her husband's
return, she moved away, causing her to have to leave her job also. However, despite leaving her
...show more content...
He had an uneasy feeling about Robert staying in their home, but his wife had already told Robert
he could and begged him to help make him feel comfortable so of course he allowed it. The wife
picked up Robert from the station and upon their return, they ate dinner, talked, and watched TV.
The wife fell asleep on the couch resulting in Robert and the husband watching television and
drawing. They began to bond over discussing religion and drawing cathedrals. Robert told him to
draw with his eyes closed and they both got lost in the process of drawing. Connections From my
perspective, the story connects to the real world through its similarities to some of today's
modern relationships. It was evident that the couple struggled with lack of an open mind, trust
issues, and possessiveness, all of which tend to pop up in a lot of today's relationships. In the
beginning of the story it was made clear that the husband did not have an open mind. He knew his
wife had offered up their home to him, but he did not want him there because he was blind. The
idea of being blind and blind people in general bothered him. He compared real blind people to
those he had seen portrayed on TV as slow and strange. While he did not have an open mind about
the blind, I believe he could've also been against it because it was a male friend whom his wife
shared so much history with. Perhaps if it was a female he wouldn't have been so shut off to the
idea of his wife having someone let

Essay on Cathedral by Raymond Carver
The story of Cathedral, by Raymond Carver, shows that you do not have to see someone or
something in order to appreciate them for who or what they are. It is about a husband, the
narrator, and his wife who live in a house. The wife, whose name they do not mention, has a very
close friend who is blind. His name is Robert. Robert's wife dies, and comes to their house to
spend a couple of days with the narrator and his wife. The narrator, whose name they do not
mention as well, is always on edge because he does not really know Robert very well and he does
not like blind people, but he is being friendly for his wife's sake. The story comes to an end when
Robert and the narrator draw a cathedral together using the narrator's hand and helped by...show
more content...
He only sees people for what they are on the outside, but is blind to appreciating the true beauty of
a person's inner self. You begin to understand this better when the narrator goes to say prayers,
and this baffles the wife. The narrator says, "Now let us pray, I said, and the blind man lowered his
head. My wife looked at me, her mouth agape. Pray the phone won't ring and the food doesn't get
cold, I said." Now normally prayers are said to show appreciation to all that God has blessed you
with. The narrator prays in a cold type of way, because he cannot believe in a God if he does not
appreciate the beauty of ones inner self.   
The second thing that makes the theme or message come out is the characterization in the story. In
Cathedral, there are three main characters. The most important character in the story is Robert, the
blind friend of the wife's. Unlike the narrator, Robert cannot physically see, but has a clear vision of
appreciating the person's true inner self. For example, when the narrator cannot comprehend how
Robert's wife even loved Robert. He says, "It was beyond my understanding. Hearing this, I
felt sorry for the blind man for a little bit. And then I found myself thinking what a pitiful life this
woman must have led. Imagine a woman who could never see herself as she was seen in the eyes
of her loved one. A woman who could go on day after day and never receive the smallest compliment

Analysis Of Cathedral By Raymond Carver
Throughout the story, the man is almost dazed, trying to savor the past and acting without a care.
In the opening scene of the story, the man is drinking excessively and staring out of the kitchen
window onto his lawn; his furniture is arrange in the yard as it was in the house. He even
repositions the "nightstand and reading lamp on his side of the bed, nightstand and reading lamp on
her side. His side, her side" (Carver 3). His actions and his thought process make it apparent that
thoughts about the woman are having an impact on his mental state. He is being haunted by these
memories of them. The man does not care when he is approaching his house and finds a boy and a
girl wandering around his yard, testing his furniture. He greets them and

Essay about Cathedral by Raymond Carver
Cathedral by Raymond Carver
In Raymond Carver?s ?Cathedral?, the conventional ideas often associated with blindness and sight
are challenged. By juxtaposing his two male characters, Carver is able to effectively explore sight
and its seemingly simplistic relationship with learning and knowledge. As well, he addresses the
barriers imposed by the human tendency to rely on vision as the sole means of experiencing the
world.
At the beginning of the story, the narrator?s perception on blind people as individuals who ?moved
slowly and never laughed? reflect not only his but also the views generally shared by society (720).
The uneasiness experienced by the narrator at the prospect of ?[a] blind man in [his] house? is a
...show more content...
he is. As the night wears on the narrator challenges Robert?s blindness in all sorts of ways?drinking,
smoking cigarettes dope, and turning on the TV?which leads to their drawing of the cathedral and
the narrator?s ?awakening.?
Carver develops the two main characters in his story to be completely contrasted to each other, in
these characters not only does sight and blindness become conflicted with each other but also does
the issue of knowledge. Carver uses the narrator to represent an individual who sees but cannot
?see? and Robert as one who can ?see? but lacks the ability to see. Through the interaction between
them, Carver address societies misconception of vision and its connection with knowledge. He
brings to the foreground the idea of sight being the handicap rather then blindness. This is
illustrated through the narrator?s inability to understand his wife and her ?poems? and Roberts
ability to do so. Robert?s attitude of ?learning never ends? and his ability to fearlessly experience
new things such as ?dope? and gain new knowledge regardless of his ?disability? shows that he is
not the one that is disabled (727). Rather it is the hesitance of the narrator that is the handicap and
barrier that initially lies between them.
Our vision is perceived to be our most trusted sense, as the old saying goes ?seeing is believing? thus

Raymond Carver's Cathedral
We often perceive sight as our immediate and best tool for understanding the world around us,
when in fact, it is not. There are other methods of understanding that go beyond our senses,
methods that most people are unable to comprehend. In his short story "Cathedral", Raymond
Carver uses point of view to suggest that there are ways to perceive and understand something
beyond just seeing it. In fact, Carver suggests not only that sight is only the most basic level of
understanding, but also that true understanding comes from a feeling that is not one of any our five
senses. The story begins with the narrator and his wife living sometime in the presumed 1970's or
80's. The narrator describes to the reader how his wife was previously an assistant...show more
content...
At this point, the narrator begins to open up to Robert, and the men begin to connect. Soon after
watching the program, Robert asks the Narrator to describe the cathedral to him. After much
thought, the narrator provides a very bland and basic description, which was followed by
Robert's silent disapproval. Upset, the narrator responds "But maybe you could describe one to me?
I wish you'd it. I'd like that. I really don't have a good idea" (2.9), hoping to make Robert feel lesser
for his lack of sight. Robert's description however, is much more in–depth and detailed. Robert then
asks the narrator to close his eyes and draw it, as a blind man would. With some assistance, the
narrator draws what he believes the cathedral would look like based upon what he truly knew of it,
and not his sight. It is then that the narrator has an epiphany with his realization that it is not sight
that leads to true

Summary Of Cathedral By Raymond Carver
Lucy Stark
Mrs. Stultz
English 203
15 Nov 2017
Raymond Carver: The Man Behind the Stories The story of award winning author, Raymond
Carver, is as detailed and intricate as the stories he wrote. He was born in Oregon in 1938. His
father was a sawmill worker. He married one year out of high school and had two children. He
worked various jobs to support his small family and in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s
he began drinking heavily. When he got his drinking problem under control, he began to teach at
the University of Texas at El Paso and Syracuse University. He went on to win a literary award in
1983 and focused on his writing full time later. He wrote "Cathedral" that year and "Where I'm
Calling From" in 1969. He died at the age of fifty of lung cancer. His stories are very realistic and
mirror his own life (Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica). "Cathedral" portrays the difference
between looking and seeing. The visitor in the story has the disability of blindness, which the narrator
comments, " I wasn't enthusiastic about his visit. He was no one I knew. And his being blind
bothered me" (Carver 106). The narrator is figuratively blinded by jealousy and can't understand
why his wife is so obsessed with her friendship with a blind man. He uses irony to emphasize the
epiphany the narrator has at the end of the story. Niwar A. Obaid points out, "[T]he narrator can see
with his eyes but does not realize the restrictions he has placed on himself, and how those

Raymond Carver Cathedral Essay
Reasoning Behind the Unfamiliar In Raymond Carver's story "Cathedral" there are many signs of
prejudice, jealousy, misunderstandings and eventually what may appear to possibly be a
development of friendship. There is a fair amount of preconceived judgment made by the narrator
in regards to an old friend coming to visit his wife. At the beginning of the story the narrator refers
to the old friend as "the blind man" (Carver 455) and makes it clear that he "wasn't enthusiastic about
his visit." (456) Although, the narrator embarks into unknown territory while preparing for the visit
and while engaging with a blind man during his stay, he finds himself seeing the world in a new
light. The narrator, whom is eventually referred to as Bub...show more content...
The narrator's wife writes a poem about how "the blind man touch[es] her nose and lips" (456).
The narrator shows resentment by acknowledging that he "didn't think much of the poem" (456).
The fact that the narrator's wife writes a poem about the blind man physically touching her in an
intimate way seems to upset him. He does not seem to press the issue with his wife since it was
before meeting her, however it does seem to add to the list of reasons as to why the narrator may
not like the idea of the visit to come. Although, the narrator struggles with the misunderstandings
behind his wife's and the blind man's relationship it becomes apparent that Robert was in fact
married. The narrator is proven to have jealous thoughts and a biased opinion of what blind
people are like, but he realizes that Robert was now widowed and has lost a woman that "never
[saw] herself as she was seen in the eyes of her loved one" (Carver 458). Robert was the "husband
[that] could never read the expression on her face, be it misery or something better" (458). These
revelations are just a few that possibly help the narrator start to feel some comfort behind the
upcoming visit.
In addition the narrator has a few prejudice thoughts about the blind man prior to his arrival, but
they appear to change as the story evolves. The narrator is not afraid in voicing his

Raymond Carvers Cathedral Essay
As with many short stories, Raymond Carver's "Cathedral" only has a few pages to develop his
main character and create a scenario he or she must learn from or achieve something from or
change because of. In such a short amount of space, word choice is integral in constructing a solid
impression of the characters and their personalities in the reader's mind. Carver's simple use of
language and sentence structure combined with his choice for point of view creates an intriguing
tone and believable character interaction.
This story, written as the thoughts of the narrator, is about an old blind friend of his wife's coming to
visit for the first time. The story focuses on the...show more content...
"I'm saying that at the end of the summer she let the blind man run his hands over her face, said
goodbye to him married her childhood etc., who was now a commissioned officer..."(218). Every
time this officer that is his wife's first husband comes up in the story, the narrator moves on to
other subjects quickly. This reveals a jealousy in him that is not plainly written in the story. It
allows the reader to learn about the narrator as he sets up the story. Because of this set up, the
reader is able to expect and easily see the narrator's jealousy as he is later introduced to the blind
man. He also omits names. The reader never learns the names of the narrator or his wife, though she
is frequently involved in the story. This allows the reader to focus on essential characteristics of the
character. The wife is merely the wife. The blind man is blind.
Choice of point of view can change the tone and entire meaning gained from a story. The tone of
this story would have been much different if it were written from the wife's point of view. She
would not have been seen as the static nagging wife stereotype, the husband himself would have
probably be viewed as unsupportive and a slacker, and the reader would have gained a better
understanding of who this blind man was. However, for the sake of the story, the importance of the
blind man is that he is blind. This is what is important to the narrator and this is what the

Analysis Of ' Cathedral ' By Raymond Carver
A New Perspective Everyone at one point has judged a book by its cover. In the short story,
"Cathedral", Raymond Carver creates a narrator who bases off ideas and assumptions about blind
people from movies. The narrator has never interacted with a blind person before the day where his
wife invites her friend, who is named Robert, to stay. The narrator and Robert have never met, but
the narrator has a strong dislike towards Robert before meeting. The narrator's closed–mindedness
and misconceptions leads him to judge Robert, however after a few hours of interaction, the
narrator learns more about him and grows to have a new perspective about people not being who
they think they are. The narrator is pre–judgemental towards all people who are blind, whether or
not he has met them. He believes all blind people are the same as those he has watched in movies.
The narrator perception of the blind is that they "moved slowly and never laughed" and when they
went out "they were led by seeing eye–dogs" (Carver 104). The movie industry creates a false image
of the blind, which leads to the narrator's assumptions. However, the blind are not all the same, just
like how everyone else in the world are not the same. People are designed to be different in their
personalities, thoughts, looks and much more. The narrator's ideas of Robert are based off of false
conceptions and this changes his attitude towards Robert. The narrator already has strong feelings
towards Robert before meeting him

Raymond Carver Cathedral
Like in "Hills like White Elephants," the lack of communication in this story is causing a crisis in
the characters' relationship. The couple is going through this critical situation because they can't
find a mutual base for their marriage. The husband and his wife are in different levels of maturity.
He is already a grown up man who doesn't care for a cat that is getting wet in the rain, while the
wife still presents a childish behavior.
Another illustration of how the lack of communication affects the comprehension between partners
in a relationship is the "Cathedral," written by Raymond Carver. This story is not exactly the same
as the past ones because this couple doesn't face any crisis in their marriage. But, it does exemplify
the importance...show more content...
He doesn't understand that seeing involves more than just looking.
Gradually, by the end of the night after having dinner, drinking, smoking, and talking about different
topics, the blind man stablishes a better relationship with the narrator, and while they watch a
documentary about cathedrals on TV, the blind man asks the narrator to describe a cathedral in
words for him because he doesn't know how to picture one.
After the narrator's first failed attempt in using the right words to describe what he sees, the blind
man asks him to get a pen and a paper, puts his hand on the narrator's hand that is holding the pen,
and asks him to draw the cathedral. Then, the blind man tells the narrator to close his eyes while he
continues drawing. For the first time the narrator appears to be able to see.
The man helps the narrator overcome his "blindness" by teaching him a new way of seeing. The
experience of this effective communication transforms the narrator and the way he sees the external
world. He is no longer an ignorant and distant

The term "disabled" is commonly used to classify people with a permanent injury and carries a
negative or unfortunate tone along with the label. Based on the definition of the word, this
categorization would be correct due to the affected not having certain motor functions anymore.
However, certain "disabilities," like deafness or blindness, may physically impair
day–today–function and seem to negatively impact life, but, in reality, do not always prevent the
affected from living a complete and full life. Raymond Carver, in his story, "Cathedral,"
highlights the ability for someone who is blind, but develops insight, to live a much more
complete life than a man who has is sight, but cannot connect with the world he sees. We first
learn of our narrator's views on blindness when he discusses hosting a blind man whose wife
recently died. He remarks that he is not happy about the man coming to his house because his
idea of a blind person is someone who does not laugh (137). His comments about blind people and
his generalization of them as unhappy people because of their disability shows that he can only
see the surface of people. Also, the narrator feels pity for the blind man's late wife because The
narrator is does not seem to be able to comprehend that a person who is blind could be happy
because he cannot connect with a world that he cannot see. He feels that because he has his sight and
the blind man does not, that he is superior to the blind man. However, this

Cathedral's Lesson of Empathy and Connection

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Cathedral's Lesson of Empathy and Connection