Cathedral by Raymond Carver Term Paper

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Cathedral Raymond Carver

In his short story, Cathedral, author Raymond Carver argues that community and connection are an important component of life. The narrator begins the story as an isolated man, with few friends and little connection to the outside world. His insularity is upset by the arrival of his wife's friend, a blind man. Initially highly resistant to the blind man's intrusion into his world, the narrator gradually warms to the man through a meal and describing a television program. However, the narrator is not fully moved out of his insulated world until he and the blind man begin to draw a cathedral together. It is this experience that reinforces the importance of connection and community within Carver's Cathedral.

At the beginning of the story, the narrator is clearly isolated from the rest of the world. He sees the world in a defined, stereotypical way, avoids connections with other people, and is unhappy at work. He notes that he spends most of his nights smoking cannabis in front of the TV, and that he and his wife seldom go to bed at the same time. The narrator's wife notes "You don't have ANY friends," and the narrator relies largely on movies for his assessments of the outside world.

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Even his relationship with his wife is strained, as the narrator notes that his wife seems disappointed with him. Writes Carver, "My wife finally took her eyes off the blind man and looked at me. I had the feeling she didn't like what she saw. I shrugged."

The narrator is largely unaware of how insulated he is from the rest of the world, and how his prejudices limit his life and choices. He is baffled by the idea of a blind man, and unable to comprehend how touching the blind man's face could have changed his wife's life. Further, the narrator is unable to understand the importance of poems to his wife.

Initially, the narrator is highly resistant to his the visit of his wife's friend, the blind man, and his insularity makes it difficult for him to connect with the blind man. He seems resentful….....

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