Topic > Analysis of the Role of Emotions and Thoughts in Raymond Carver's Cathedral

Raymond Carver was an American short story writer and poet. He enrolled in a creative writing class taught by John Gardner, who became a mentor and gave guidance to Carver's career. Carver wrote 72 short stories and 306 poems. He published “Cathedral” in 1983. “Cathedral” is considered one of Raymond Carver's greatest works. Raymond Carver's "Cathedral" is about a man whose wife has a longtime friend named Robert who is blind. Robert plans to visit the man's wife for the evening. He has never had any kind of interaction with a blind person and is unsure about the whole experience. The story is set somewhere in New York on a single night in the late 1970s and is written in the first person. The narrator shows a change in character as his initial judgment of uncertainty transforms into a life-changing experience. The man has many emotions and thoughts towards his wife and Robert before and during the visit, as well as character development and a strong bond that would change his outlook on life. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The wife's husband in this story has many emotions and thoughts when he is approached by his wife who informs him that his blind friend is coming to visit him. The story begins with a man who doesn't want to meet his wife's friend, Robert, because he is blind. “He recalls having a negative attitude towards the whole idea of ​​the visit, an event complicated by his feelings of jealousy and inadequacy. He suffers from the blindness, although he does not seem able to clearly express the reason." Robert and the man's wife had become close friends after she noticed a help wanted advert in the newspaper involving Robert's caretaker role. She and Robert remained in contact over a period of ten years. When the husband is approached with the idea that Robert will come to spend the night, he is very apologetic, stating, "He was nobody I knew and his being blind bothered me." When Robert arrives they all discuss life and talk about things from the past. The husband is asked if he would like to listen to a tape of the conversation between his wife and Roberts, he mostly says yes, but then leaves to go make them drinks. He is evidently not keen on listening to the audio recordings. In “Cathedral” it is unusual in that the narrator is emotionally close to the action he describes, while maintaining a detached position.” After dinner they all sit in the living room and the husband gets frustrated as his wife and Robert discuss things that have happened to them over the past ten years. He feels strange when his wife falls asleep and only he and the blind man remain. He doesn't want to be left downstairs alone with a blind man. He obviously doesn't feel comfortable with the blind man. The quote I said, “Are you tired? Do you want me to take you up to your bed? Are you ready to go to bed? The husband is now face to face with Robert as Robert decides to stay awake. Many emotions run through him as he leaves thoughts of the past behind and decides it would be nice to have some company after all. The husband has strong character development throughout the story. At the beginning of the story he wants nothing to do with Robert and is unhappy that he is coming to spend the night. It stereotypes people with the disability of blindness and considers them incapable of accomplishing things on their own. The man jokes and says they could go bowling, which frustrates his wife who asks him to make this visit work for her. From the information he has read he assumes things about Robert like “the blind man didn't smoke, yet his ashtray.