Raymond carvers cathedral
Raymond carvers cathedralRaymond Carver's "Cathedral"
"For now we see through a glass darkly; but then face to face: now I know in
part; but then I shall know even as I am known" (1 Corinthians 13). The narrator of Raymond Carver's "Cathedral" is a man living a life of monotony, continuously feeding the cold and bigoted mind that we witness for the first part of the story. The process of guiding Robert through the drawing of the cathedral,removes the narrator from that dark looking glass and initiates a tranformation in which he is compelled to meet himself face to face; this awakening stirs the narrator's humility, imagination, and faith.
It is human nature to embrace preconceptions regarding the facets of daily life, from politics to people. It is, as well, innate to consider oneself better than another. An awakening such as the narrator's, however, ruptures the protective shield that surrounding steadfast biases, and forces the person to assess their position in the greater schema of humankind. A bias that surfaces early on, is the mention of Robert's wife, "Beulah!" The narrator exclaims, "That's a name for a colored woman." (Carver, "Cathedral," 182) Here, by attaching a stereotype to a simple name, he exhibits the precise indiscretion of a closed-minded bigot,
and then eventually reaches humility through his awakening. The narrator
possesses several other prejudices that also hinder his humility. Later on, for
example, the narrator sees Robert for the first time and the man's appearance
startles him: "This blind man, feature this," he says, "he was wearing a full
beard! A beard on a blind man!" (183) Later still, the narrator reinforces his
portrayal of an ignorant, presumptuous man when he notices that Robert doesn't
"use a cane and he [doesn't] wear dark glasses, [having] always thought dark
glasses were a must for the blind." (183) However, the narrator sheds these
stereotypes once he engages in the 'cathedral' conversation with Robert; the two begin to compare how well each of them envisions a cathedral. For instance,
Robert gives facts that he has just heard off the television, demonstrating his
limited knowledge. The narrator then attempts a description of a Cathedral,
"they're really big," the narrator explains, "they're massive;" (188), and
subsequently realizes just how little he knows as well. The narrator realizes
that with the gift of sight he can really see little more than a blind man . . .
And it is here that the narrator awakens to his newly humbled -- equal --
position alongside Robert. Up to this point, the narrator fancied himself a
superior person because of his sight. Suddenly, with this moment of awakening,
down came that shield protecting his closed-minded presumptions.
By engaging in the same action that helped him realize his humbleness, the
narrator retrieves his imagination. For so long he had been stifling his innate
creativity, choosing instead to...
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