Cathedral Critical Essay - 1250 Words

V. Harbert Eng. 102 S. Buchanan 02/01/2012 â€Å"Cathedral† Critical Essay It is human nature to shy away from social situations that make us uncomfortable. Also, as a people with great pride, we often find it difficult to admit when we have been iniquitous, or to allow ourselves to be open to humbling experiences. Sometimes though, it is not entirely due to intolerance that we allow ourselves to make ill-informed judgments. Raymond Carver was a writer with some insight concerning these very ideas. In his short story, â€Å"Cathedral,† Carver uses a nameless narrator and his interactions with a blind man to illustrate how a lack of experience can lead to ignorance and thus prejudice. Through the development of this character,†¦show more content†¦Creepy.† Bub becomes keenly interested in gaining an understanding of Robert. Bub watches as Robert eats. â€Å"The blind man had right away located his foods. He knew just where everything was on his plate. I watched with admiration as he used his knife and fork on the meat.† Bub cont inues watching Robert intensely throughout the meal. Bub takes note of everything Robert does, even considering him as Robert enjoys conversation with Bub’s wife, â€Å"For the most part, I just listened. Now and then I joined in. I didn’t want him to think I had left the room, and I didn’t want her to think I was feeling left out.† Although our narrator Bub is still being brusque and dismissive with Robert outwardly, one might presume due to our insight into his thoughts that Bub is beginning to set aside his preconceived notions about Robert. We can see clearly the development of this character from someone with no interest in communication or understanding, to an inquisitive person. Without his knowing it or wanting it, Bub is slowly opening himself to Robert. The most significant transformation takes place once Bub’s wife has retired for the evening. At last, Bub and Robert are left alone. After some initial awkwardness, the men begin to discus s the television. Bub notices Robert leaning his ear towards the television, listening to the newscaster. This is the moment when some of the mostShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Cathedral And The Red Convertible 1362 Words   |  6 PagesSukhpreet Kaur Professor Robert Sternberg EAC 150 Date- August 5, 2016 Topic - In both â€Å"Cathedral† and â€Å"The Red Convertible,† one character attempts to help another overcome a state of unhappiness and hopelessness. Happiness and Hope are the two most important blessings in life. Happiness is the ultimate reason for living. It is not relevant just to a single person but it is important for the whole global community. Hope is that great thing in life that gives strength to people to live life, evenRead MoreAnalysis Of Raymond Carver s Cathedral 1340 Words   |  6 PagesRaymond Carver’s characters were considered to be very much like him: â€Å"’on the edge: of poverty, alcoholic self-destruction, loneliness† (Mays 32). His short story â€Å"Cathedral† is about a young couple, who have a visitor coming to stay with them. This visitor, Robert, is the wife’s friend, and he is blind. The narrator, the husband, has never met someone who is blind, was bothered by that. To him, being blind meant constantly needing help from others. His depiction of blindness was what he has seenRead MoreCharacter Analysis Of Raymond Carver s Cathedral 1426 Words   |  6 PagesCha racter Analysis in Raymond Carver’s â€Å"Cathedral†: The Narrator Literature has the potential to act as a mirror by presenting people’s lived experiences, expectations, and perceptions through characters. Such is what can be deciphered through the analysis of different characters in Raymond Carver’s story â€Å"Cathedral.† This paper focuses on the narrator of the story portrayed by the author as blind, which is used metaphorically not to imply physical blindness, but the inability to have reasonedRead MoreReligion Expressed Through Art Essays2552 Words   |  11 Pagesdevotion and worship takes place in churches and cathedrals. It is these places that help us gain knowledge and a deeper more spiritual meaning of God. The churches and cathedrals are the very foundation of religious practice and devotion to God in my opinion. They are known as temples, ceremonial places, and are places of worship to God. However it is the claim that ‘art museums in the modern period fulfil some of the same functions as cathedrals a nd churches have done in the past’, which challengesRead MoreTypes Of Strengths And Weaknesses1460 Words   |  6 Pageshad trouble with focusing on a topic and being concise throughout the rest of the essay. Taking a step into college, I have found myself taking WRC 1013 my first semester. After seventeen weeks of dedication to my essays, I was not able to receive the grade I desired. My form of communication in my essays has lacked a desire to draw the readers toward the prompt. The work throughout this course demonstrates  critical thinking and detailed writing skills, and, though I make some progress in focusingRead MoreA Modest Proposal1096 Words   |  5 PagesHe lived in London most of his life, but after the death of Queen Anne in 1714, he was offered a position as Dean of St. Patrick’s in Dublin. He held his position until his death in 1745 at the age of seventy eight. He was buried in St. Patrick’s Cathedral (Glendinning, 1998) . In order to understand the message behind the â€Å"A Modest Proposal â€Å", it is necessary to understand the writer, his feelings and background. In the early eighteenth century, literature was a vehicle for public, not privateRead MoreMinimalism by Raymond Carver Essay3013 Words   |  13 Pagesthe plots as shown in â€Å"The Bath†, â€Å"A Small, Good Thing† and â€Å"Cathedral†. Carver’s use of minimalism was an intelligent way to allow readers to make their own personal connections and analogies of hidden messages throughout his stories. Minimalistic writing is when less means more. Many Critics refer to Raymond Carver as one of the greatest practitioners of American short stories due to the complexity of his omissive style. In the critical analysis â€Å"Narrowed Voice: Minimalism by Raymond Carver†, theRead Moreuna‚Äà ²ÃƒÅ Ãƒ ²ÃƒËœ1561 Words   |  7 PagesDictionary A good quality thesaurus (optional but strongly recommended) A folder/portfolio to keep all work throughout the semester Grading/Assignments â€Å"Pop† Reading Quizzes or Group Work 10% Citation Assignment 5% Essay 1 10% Essay 2 15% Essay 3 20% Research Assignment 15% Exam 25% Note: Use of internet, cell phones and other electronic devices is not permitted during in-class writing or exams. The term work for courses within the School of EnglishRead MoreFrom W.S. by L.P. Hartley1397 Words   |  6 Pagesrecognized immediately as a major contribution to English fiction; The Go-Between (1953) and The Hireling (1957) were later made into internationally successful films. In 1967 he published The Novelists Responsibility, a collection of critical essays. L.P. Hartley was a highly skilled narrator and all his tales are admirably told. W.S. comes from The Complete Short Stories of L.P. Hartley published posthumously in 1973. The content of the story tells for us about the writer-novelistRead MoreRhetorical Analysis Of The Death Of The Moth And On Keeping A Notebook 1427 Words   |  6 Pagesheavily rely on such devices to get their points across to the audience, and these devices help strengthen overall theme the authors want to communicate. Though several may argue that Didion’s use of metaphor and rhetorical question compliment her essay very well, the repetition and metaphors Dillard uses are more effective in developing the theme of loss and gain throughout the story. Throughout the writing, Didion makes a frequent use of metaphors. One of the most powerful metaphors she uses is