Cathedral by Raymond Carver and What the Ideal Is - Essay Example

? Essay, English Literature ic and Modern) Topic: Discuss the Story" Cathedral" by Raymond Carver and identify what the ideal is. Introduction Raymond Carver has given us an impressive novel titled, “Cathedral”. Both the theme of the novel and the author’s approach towards the theme educe inquisitiveness. The level of objectivity achieved by the author in the creation and development of the characters is creditable. Without being sentimental, and without giving scope for too much sentimentalism, varied situations manifest, clearly grow, and attain new heights. The mutual interfaces over the situations, between characters, reveal in fine styles, the convictions for which the story stands for. The narrations are poignant, but they do not lose the authenticity and genuineness in this psycho-analytical short story. The narrator is materialistic; he has a charming and understanding wife. He is a lucky individual; his wife understands, the family enjoys good standard of living, and his both eyes are perfect, the real value of which he is unable to appreciate. Apparently he looks a satisfied individual, but his inner world is blind to so many positive aspects of humankind. The hearts of such people are engulfed in darkness, they lack true knowledge, they are jealous, and this particular narrator has the problem of drug addiction as well, which is his support to find solace from the realities (problems) of life. When one judges someone else, that is done on the basis of the personal and practical experiences of the past, as well as readings of the texts on the subject. Often an individual does not realize what blessings have been conferred on him and he is unable to appreciate and live life enjoying their true worth and one has different yardsticks for judging oneself and others. The ideal of the story is that the reach of the two external eyes is limited to the secular world outside. They do not have the probing capacity of the inner world. When an individual is tuned to the divine, he experiences the reality within, understands new dimensions, develops benign relationships and attains the state of true happiness. The three important characters dominate the story; rather it is the story of their silent misunderstandings and eventual understanding. The admirable strength of the characterization by the author, notwithstanding their serious differences regarding to approach to life is that their quarrel is not vocal, but at the intellectual level. The narrator carries grudge against Roberts silently, he does not like him but behaves with him in a restrained manner. Proximity to one’s wife by another man would not be tolerated by any human being, but the narrator is restrained on this count. The compromise is achieved is not in the literal sense of the term. It is the outcome of the inner development of the narrator; he realizes his shortcomings, attains enlightenment and climbs a few steps up on the ladder of spirituality. At that level Robert is waiting for him, and they now match in understanding. In the initial stages, the relationship between the narrator and Roberts is grudging and that grudge is from the side of the narrator. On the contrary, Roberts, the visually challenged (blind) character in the story, is to be coveted as his position is better than the one with the two external eyes. His understanding of the world is accurate and benign as compared to those with two external eyes. The pitied blind man has the practical vision of his inner world. He is better than the sighted people. He has a good equation with the narrator’s wife as compared to the narrator. He keeps distance from drugs, and that seems to be one of the reasons why the narrator’s wife holds him in high esteem. As the story develops, the narrator’s views show maturity, and he begins to understand what the nature of the world of blind person is. This perhaps is the viewpoint of the author according to my understanding of the issue. My interpretation may not be perfect and the method of interpretation is a personal trait. I may not agree with you, you may not agree with me. You may think that whatever you say is correct; I will say, whatever correct is there in the world belongs to me. You are right, but I am not wrong. In the end of the story Roberts consuming drugs, is unacceptable and does not fit into the overall theme? Is it a temporary compromise? The author’s logic in this aspect is difficult to fathom. In short, the outlook of the narrator is secular, and that of Robert is spiritual. The external eyes, though they are superior number-wise (they are two), their power is nothing as compared to the ‘Inner Eye’ that is capable of experiencing. The narrator looks and Robert sees which has the connotation referring to the inner world and subtle feelings. Robert is aware of the limitations of the narrator, but the narrator does not know much about the latent abilities of Robert. By possessing the ability of sight, narrator assumes that he is superior to Roberts in all aspects of life. The narrator regrets the inability of Roberts that he cannot see and assumes that he is unable to make a woman happy, and as such he is not leading a normal life. But Robert does make the narrator’s wife happy. The narrator is proud and egoistic of his ability to see everything and assumes that there is nothing else to see, and this is the basic mistakes he commits, and he is unable to gauge the feelings of his wife correctly. Somewhere, there is an inner blockade in their relationship. In the connection between Roberts and narrator’s wife, physical body has no role. The relationship is due to their common interests. Since narrator is unable to appreciate the taste for art and music in her wife, their relationships is strained, and she gets the satisfaction for her psyche through interaction with Roberts. This connection can be interpreted as moral, ethical and even spiritual. This is the secret of their long, uninterrupted relationship for ten years. Normally secular relationships with motivated desires do not last long and they break easily. The narrator is not happy with his wife’s connectivity with Roberts, though this alone is not the reason for his irritable conversations with her. Sight is no issue for Robert’s wife. The author introduces another silent but beautiful character, Beulah, Robert’s wife. She has no major role to play in the story, except that she is a factor in the flight of imaginations of the narrator. The narrator presumes that she is unhappy to live with a blind husband. He should have addressed this question to himself, is he or is his wife happy when both of them have perfect external eyes? He is unable to fathom the depths of the feelings of his wife, who attaches lots of importance even to small things like the tapes, which she exchanges with Roberts. From the narrator’s point of view the tape is the tool of harmless gossip. He fails to appreciate such small exchanges of gifts, pleasantries, and compliments are the cementing force between wife and the husband. The emotional element is the main component in a successful marriage. The Cathedral is the turning point in the story, so also in the life of the narrator. If one attains the true spiritual understanding, all conflicts of interests cease, suspicions are gone, and camaraderie prevails. The same happens with the relationship of the narrator and Roberts. When the cathedral is shown on the television, he makes an attempt to describe it to Roberts and at this stage it is his superiority complex does the job but his description lacks cohesion and he does not own the command on the requisite vocabulary to describe the divine structure. The reason for his plight is simple and straightforward. Divinity has no place in his heart. Cathedral has no meaning for him; he tells Roberts that he does not believe in such things. But in the end, when he decides to draw the cathedral, he begins to think deeply about it, his mind’s eye gets opened, the inner pull does its job, and he brings out the true picture of the cathedral with all the details and people in and around it. He has the total picture of the Cathedral, what does it actually mean, and this is the beginning of the inner transformation in him. But Cathedral is the abode which transmits spiritual vibrations to the seekers of truth. When the Inner Eye is opened the external eyes are shut, even though they are open! When he completes the drawing, he keeps his eyes shut, as if in a meditative poise, and sees in the drawing he has created, something more, something special and something unique, hitherto not seen or experienced by him by viewing the cathedral with his naked eyes. In that process of closing the external eyes, the narrator has established connectivity with his inner world, seems to have lost consciousness about his secular connections with the external world and therefore he experiences the state of weightlessness, and find himself placeless, which indicates that he is experiencing bliss. He is in contact with the inner world, attains a new dimension in life and hence everything has changed, and he is able to see beyond what his external eyes are able to see. His act of closing the external eyes, has paved way for opening of the eye of the inner world. Now he is able to understand the true, meaning of the connectivity of Robert with his wife which is blemish less. The narrator’s version on the blind persons and those sighted, is superficial. He has no knowledge about the personality of the blind visitor, but he hastens to pass verdict on him, even before meeting him. The narrator states, “And his being blind bothered me. My idea of blindness came from the movies. In the movies the blind moved slowly and never laughed" (186). With this assertion of the narrator, the author uses the failure to live up to the ideal to reveal the theme! He further identifies the blind people with their dark glasses. The perspective of the narrator about blind people is based on his own limited experience and knowledge. Roberts on the other hand is willing to learn always, and remains ready to investigate the unknown. The cathedral incident needs to be understood in this context. The narrator breaks the shackles of ignorant world that he has been living. He marches to light through darkness. Thus, the interpretative community of the narrator and Roberts, the one without sight, are entirely different. Conclusion Literature is like the mighty mountain. One, who is on the ascent, sees the beauty of its surroundings from the level of the height of the mountain where he is stationed. The perception of the mountaineer standing at the height of 1000 meters is different from the one standing at the height of 2000 meters. The ideal of the story is, instead of complaining what has not fallen to the lot, an individual needs to live happily with the available disciplines. The life of Roberts is the fine example, and he has the realization that the secular comforts of the materialistic world are not conducive to happiness in the real sense. He greatly values human relationships and his equation with narrator’s wife is one such noble example. The answer to the question whether the author directly establishes character/action or indirectly in distortion, is yes and no both! Much depends on the understanding capacity of the reader. A reader who has the knowledge about the secular world and the inner world of an individual, the material aspect and the spiritual aspect, has no problems in understanding the merit and purpose of the characters in the story. The author has done his job, without any preconceived notions or to convey any specific message. Without wearing any mask, the characters live life as per their inner convictions. When the opportunity arrives, the narrator, notwithstanding all his past blemishes, is willing to learn and establishes rapport and modifies his belief systems. Work Cited Carver, Raymond. "Cathedral." The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. Ed. Cassill, R.V. and Richard Bausch. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2000. 186-196. Print. Read More