Questions and Answers for Cathedral
Cathedral
What does the cathedral symbolize in Raymond Carver's story "Cathedral"?
I would argue that the cathedral in Raymond Carver's great story symbolizes the discovery of empathy, the discovery of common ground, and the loss of inhibitions. At the start of the story, the...
Cathedral
Explain what the cathedral symbolizes to both the blind man and to the narrator in Raymond Carver's "Cathedral."
For Robert, the blind man in Carver’s “Cathedral", the cathedral symbolizes a whole different dimension of existence. Though blind, he is able to achieve a remarkably powerful vision through the...
Cathedral
What is a good thesis statement for the story "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver?
A good thesis for Raymond Carver's "Cathedral" can be that a person can share meaningful experiences with those from whom he least expects anything. The narrator, the husband of a sensitive woman,...
Cathedral
What is the main theme of Cathedral by Raymond Carver?
The main theme of “Cathedral” is that human connection occurs in various forms and degrees. The characters illustrate that people have different ways and abilities to connect and relate to others;...
Cathedral
Describe narrator's epiphany at the end of "Cathedral."
The narrator of "The Cathedral" spends most of the story feeling very uncertain about how he would interact with a blind man. He shows the reader that he thinks that a blind person would be...
Cathedral
What is the major theme of "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver?
In Raymond Carver's "Cathedral," a reader might find many themes, but there is one that stands out for me. It's important to remember that a theme is a major idea or "life truth" that the author is...
Cathedral
In Raymond Carver's "Cathedral," what is the story's dominate conflict, and in light of this, who or what would be...
A conflict arises with the confrontation of two opposing parties. Generally the conflict includes the protagonist pitted against an antagonist, whether it be represented as his conscience, nature,...
Cathedral
How would you describe the narrator’s relationship with his wife in "Cathedral"?
The husband and his wife are alienated from each other, mainly because the husband feels only half alive. In "Cathedral," the minimalist writer, Raymond Carver, employs a recurrent theme of anomie,...
Cathedral
What is the author's tone in "Cathedral" (the implied attitude of the author)?
The tone of the unnamed first-person narrator in Raymond Carver’s short story “The Cathedral” (1981) masks itself as jealousy and contempt but has more to do with emotional numbness and the...
Cathedral
What is the setting in the story "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver?
The action of this story is set in the narrator’s home, a suburban house in the USA. Conversations take place between the narrator and his wife in their living room and in the kitchen; and between...
Cathedral
What is a good thesis statment for an interpretation essay of "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver?
This is a very open-ended and personal decision on your part; writing an interpretation essay on a short story will depend entirely on your interpretation of the piece. In order to determine that,...
Cathedral
How can I explain what is the irony in "Cathedral"?
In Raymond Carver's minimalistic story, "Cathedral," the irony, or contrast between what is expected and what really hapens, occurs in the latter part of the narrative. For, it is the sensitive...
Cathedral
What is Carver's minimalist style in "Cathedral"?
Raymond Carver's "Cathedral" (1981) is written in a minimalistic style. The short story illustrates the minimalistic idea of "less is more": the idea that less complicated things are typically more...
Cathedral
Would you describe the narrator in "Cathedral" as an antihero? What are some details early in the story that show the...
The narrator of Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral” could certainly be described as an antihero, though this is not such a pejorative description as readers sometimes think. An antihero is merely a...
Cathedral
In Carver's "Cathedral," how does the point of view contribute to the effectiveness of the story?
From the first lines of "Cathedral," Raymond Carver establishes a distinctive narrative voice. His fallible, irascible, sensitive first-person narrator seems to owe something to Holden...
Cathedral
In Raymond Carver's "Cathedral," what figurative language does Carver employ? To what effect?
Figurative language uses words or techniques to communicate more meaning than the literal words themselves. Carver gives the narrator a down-to-earth voice by having him use slang. An example would...
Cathedral
What details in “Cathedral” make clear the narrator’s initial attitude toward blind people?
We learn that the narrator has never met a blind person. He says the idea of Robert's disability bothers him. Rather than accepting Robert, he is made uncomfortable by his disability. He is fixated...
Cathedral
Describe the narrator's attitude in "Cathedral."
The narrator of "The Cathedral" starts by describing the imminent arrival of an old acquaintance of his wife. The man, Robert, is blind, and the narrator's wife used to read for him. She knew...
Cathedral
In what ways is this story about communication and connectedness?
The theme of communication is rather sophisticated in "Cathedral." On the most basic level, Robert is able to communicate with others in a very meaningful way despite being cut off from the sense...
Cathedral
How are the narrator's preconceived notations of blind people changed?
The narrator's preconceived notions about blind people are dispelled once he actually meets Robert in person. Before Robert's arrival, the narrator is extremely closed-minded. It is unlikely the...
Cathedral
For what reason does the wife keep asking Robert if he’d like to go to bed in "The Cathedral"? What effect does...
There is another reason the wife keeps asking Robert if he'd like to go to bed: she is displeased that her husband (the narrator) is sharing dope (cannabis) with Robert: My wife came back...
Cathedral
In "Cathedral," is the single primary character round or flat? Is he static or dynamic? What about the secondary...
The primary character of Raymond Carver’s story is the unnamed narrator. He is a dynamic character but not necessarily round. Carver offers very limited backstories for the characters, so the...
Cathedral
In "Cathedral", what does Robert "see" over the course of the evening?
Robert can see much the narrator cannot. The narrator was very close-minded and did not want Robert to visit. Robert, through his other senses, is able to "see" things. He can trace...
Cathedral
In "Cathedral," what makes the narrator start explaining what he is seeing on television?
It is clear that the narrator initially feels very awkward to have a blind man in his house and also to be watching television with him. Of course, Robert is unable to see, and although the history...
Cathedral
What is the significance of Carver's choice of a cathedral as catalyst for the narrator's learning experience, and...
In "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver, there are many references to religion and faith throughout the story. However, the cathedral itself is not brought up until near the end of the story. Prior to...
Cathedral
How does the protagonist change in "Cathedral"?
At the beginning of "Cathedral," the narrator/protagonist appears to be obtuse and clueless about people who have handicaps. The fact that his wife's friend and former employer is blind and is...
Cathedral
The climax in Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral” could be said to be the moment in the end of the story when the...
The narrator is a man who merely resides in his house: He watches his wife go to bed at night, he sees no friends, staying at home and watching television. Even when his wife's friend Robert...
Cathedral
What stereotypes does the narrator have of the blind in "Cathedral"?
The narrator freely admits in the first paragraph of Raymond Carver's short story that his impression of what blind people are like came from he movies. He perceived blind people to be slow movers,...
Cathedral
At what point in "Cathedral" does the narrator's preconceptions about blind pople start to change?
I would want to argue that the narrator of this story does not actually change his ideas and preconceptions and ideas about blindness until the very end of the story, when Robert asks him to close...
Cathedral
Why is the title "Cathedral" relevant to the story?
The whole story is about how two men establish a close relationship because of their experience with a television show about cathedrals built in the Middle Ages. Robert can hear what the announcer...
Cathedral
Towards the end of the story "Cathedral," why can't the narrator describe a cathedral to the blind man?
It's true the narrator is not very good at describing the cathedral to Robert. It's possible that this is because he is really high (the three characters do a tremendous amount of drinking, eating...
Cathedral
Raymond Carver, "Cathedral." Who is the narrator? What do we know about him? Why does the impending visit by the...
Raymond Carver's short story "Cathedral" is about a husband and wife who are visited by an old friend of the wife's, a blind man named Robert. The story is narrated by the husband, who remains...
Cathedral
Why does Raymond Carver use the image of a cathedral as the medium through which the narrator is changed in "Cathedral"?
The image of a cathedral is used after Robert asks the narrator to describe what he sees on a television program. It is significant because it becomes the means to the act of communion between the...
Cathedral
Robert touches his beard and lets it fall several times in "Cathedral." What do you think is the importance of...
If we examine the instances when Robert performs this curious behaviour, we can see that this gesture is something that indicates Robert's need to reassure himself that he is OK. The beard is...
Cathedral
I am writing on symbolism in Raymond Carver's "Cathedral." What should my topic sentence be?
Since the topic sentence should tell what the rest of the paragraph is about, you may wish to state something about the importance of one of the symbols to the characterization or theme of the...
Cathedral
Is the narrator in "Cathedral" jealous of the blind man?
I would argue that the narrator is jealous of Robert and the importance that his wife takes in her relationship with him, but that he is actually blind to his jealousy and covers it up with a show...
Cathedral
At several points in "Cathedral," the narrator's wife loses patience with him. What causes her displeasure?
Men and women easily become irritated with each other after being married for a while. The narrator's wife is bothered by a lot of things in her husband. She doesn't like his heavy drinking....
Cathedral
What are three compare and contrast points between the narrator and Robert in "Cathedral"?
To compare is to find similarities between people or things, and to contrast is to find dissimilarities. The narrator and Robert have a few, but not many, similarities. In terms of similarities,...
Cathedral
In "The Cathedral" how does the point of view contribute to the effectiveness of the story?
The point of view comes from a pretty sarcastic and rude man, who seems to be bitter and sardonic about pretty much everything in his life. Why he is so bitter, why he seems so unhappy, isn't...
Cathedral
Discuss "Cathedral" as a story with "the blind leading the blind."
In “Cathedral,” the emotionally and spiritually blind narrator leads the physically blind Robert with mixed results: Robert learns about cathedrals but is deceived into believing the narrator feels...
Cathedral
What is the meaning or significance of the story's final scene? Aka, the drawing the narrator does with Robert.
The ending of "Cathedral" is a kind of epiphany and catharsis for the narrator. From the opening lines, we see him as an aloof, jealous, self-involved, and ego-centric. The drawing of the cathedral...
Cathedral
In "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver, what is the significance of the narrator referring to Robert throughout the story...
The motif of blindness in this short story is one that is used to reflect just how much the narrator has grown and developed by the end of the story. At the beginning, the narrator is shown to be...
Cathedral
Where does the story, Cathedral, take place?
The entire story takes place inside of the apartment of the narrator and his wife. Although the story is called "Cathedral," that is the subject of the story and not the setting. At the beginning...
Cathedral
In "Cathedral," why does the narrator continually refer to Robert as the "blind man," rather than by name?
It may be a mistake to attach too much significance to the fact that the narrator keeps referring to Robert as "the blind man." When an author gives a character a particular identifying habit or...
Cathedral
In paragraph 96, the blind man observes that the men who began work on a cathedral never lived to see it completed....
An interesting question. Certainly, this story is full of symbolism and dual meaning—what is seeing, really? How is it that the sighted man believes himself superior to the blind man throughout the...
Cathedral
How are liquor and marijuana used in "Cathedral"?
The short story "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver tells of the visit of a blind man named Robert to a married couple. The narrator's wife has known Robert for ten years, ever since she took a job...
Cathedral
Why does the blind man tell the narrator to close his eyes while he is drawing? What does he hope to teach him? What...
The blind man, Robert, is teaching the narrator how to connect to himself and by extension other people. From the beginning, the narrator is consumed with jealousy and other negative feelings that...
Cathedral
There is a significant tonal shift in "Cathedral" as the narrator and Robert begin to draw together. How would you...
Tone is defined as the author’s attitude toward the subject of the text. If the subject is the narrator’s attitude toward Robert, his wife’s blind friend, then one needs to describe it in two...
Cathedral
What does the narrator of "Cathedral" learn from his encounter with Robert? Is the ending convincing? Do you believe...
The narrator at the end of this story experiences an epiphany which does seem, despite the unemotional tone of Carver's text, to indicate that his outlook on life might be different from this...
Cathedral
Choose a significant short passage from "Cathedral" that captures the essence or theme of this work. You may choose...
To find a quote that is significant to a text, first decide what theme you are going to discuss and then choose a quote that can act as a vehicle for discussion of that theme. What follows is an...
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