Student Question
Can you provide examples of dramatic, situational, or general irony in any of these Carver short stories: Cathedral, What do you do in San Francisco, What's in Alaska, Neighbors, They're not your husband, Will you please be quiet please, Nobody said anything, or Are you a doctor?
Quick answer:
The situational irony in Raymond Carver's "Cathedral" lies in the narrator's initial discomfort and jealousy over his wife's blind friend, Robert, visiting their home. Contrary to his expectations of awkwardness, the narrator experiences a transformative and meaningful connection with Robert. This occurs when they draw a cathedral together, leading the narrator to a profound realization about communication and connection, illustrating an unexpected emotional depth and bonding with Robert.
There is situational irony in Raymond Carver's short story "Cathedral." That is, there is an incongruity between what is expected to happen and what does.
In "Cathedral," the narrator and his wife are somewhat estranged, mainly because the narrator/husband is unsociable and withdrawn. Even with his wife, he does not share his feelings or ask her to share her thoughts and emotions. Consequently, his wife seeks out others such as a blind friend of hers, with whom she develops a close relationship. This makes the husband a little jealous. So, when the wife tells her husband that her friend is coming to stay at their house, he is uncomfortable about the forthcoming visit.
After the blind man named Robert arrives, his warm and outgoing personality diffuses some of the tension between the narrator and his wife. Nevertheless, the narrator is rather taciturn while his wife talks at...
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length to Robert. When she leaves the room, the narrator asks Robert if he wants to smoke some "dope" with him, as is his habit at night. "I'll try some with you," Robert tells him. When the wife returns, she asks her husband with disapproval, "What do I smell?" Nevertheless, she joins them. After a while, though, she grows very tired and falls asleep. It is while they are sitting quietly in the room that Robert asks the narrator what he is watching on the television. "Something about the church and the Middle Ages," the narrator replies because this is all that he can get to come in on his set. When Robert hears the wordcathedral repeatedly, he asks the narrator if he can describe one to him. The narrator's attempts at verbal description fail. So Robert suggests that with some paper and a pen they could draw a cathedral together.
The narrator gets a paper shopping bag and returns. When he spreads the bag on a table, Robert moves near him and runs his hands over the bag. With a familiarity, Robert encourages the narrator to draw. Then, he tells the narrator to close his eyes; the narrator does so, observing, "So we kept on with it. His fingers rode my fingers as my hand went over the paper. It was like nothing else in my life up to now."
Ironically, the awkwardness the narrator anticipated with Robert's visit doesn't happen; instead, their interaction is rich and rewarding as Robert touches the narrator in more than just a physical sense. He helps the narrator open his mind and find meaning in sharing with others.