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Discuss the narrative techniques of characterization used to delineate the protagonist in Raymond Carvers Cathedral. What techniques are used to create the minor characters? How do they serve to deepen and round out the character of the Protagonist? What do you understand to be the theme (s) of this story?
Some concepts that require consideration a. Dramatic irony
b. Developing characters
c. Epiphany
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Cathedral by Raymond Carver is a story about a meeting between two men. One is a blind man and an old but close friend of the woman, in the story, and the womans husband. Since the story starts with a description of this complicated situation the reader can assume that the theme of the story would be of a romantic nature. Although there is a romantic tension in the story Carver surprises his readers both with the outcome of this meeting and with the theme of the story, that I will be discussing later on.
The narrator of Cathedral is also the protagonist. The other characters in the story are the blind man and the protagonists wife. The two men are the main characters in the story, and the woman is the connection or bridge between them; shes married to the protagonist but shes very close to the blind man She hadnt seen him since she worked for him one summer in Seattle ten years ago. But she and the blind man had kept in touch. (8) The woman and the blind man have sent each other tapes, telling each other almost everything through out the years.
Since the narrator is also the protagonist the point of view in the story is the one of the protagonist and his own descriptions are how he sees himself. Maybe this is also the reason why we cant find many items of external description about the husband. Yet even the name, thatonly the blind man uses for him - bub meaning a very young fellow. The name already tells us something about him and his behavior. We get reinforcement for this fact also from his actions, like when he provokes his wife by telling her Maybe I could take him bowling or by turning on the TV while they were chatting in the living room after the meal. Actions that also reveal his insensitivity.
Carver insists on not providing any setting details about the protagonist, and even when the blind man do ask him about his work and so on Carver provides us with the fact that the questions were asked but not detailed answers, if at all. I think craver wanted, with this device to emphasize the husbands immaturity. If we had learned that the husband has a great, important and significant job in a well known successful company it will shaken his character as the childish husband.
But by choosing the narrators point of view, for this story, Carvers provides the reader with lots of information about the protagonist thoughts. This is how we learn that Bub is someone who has a rather limited feel for others experiences and is afraid of differences, such as Roberts blindness since the narrator himself says in the story, I was enthusiastic about his visit. He was no one I knew. And his being blind bothered me. My idea of blindness came from the movies. In the movies, the blind moved slowly and never laughed. Sometimes they were led by seeing-eye dogs. A blind man in my house was not something I looked forward for. The reader also learns that the husband has a great aversion to the blind friend of his wife before he even knows Robert. It is because he is obviously jealous of Robert, with whom she feels intimate enough to share her life stories and poetry My wife finally took her eyes off the blind man and looked at me. I had the feeling she didnt like what she saw. I shrugged. (4) . As her husband, his dignity is somewhat hurt by the presence of the blind man and he feels insecure about it; when the three of them are sitting in the living room and his wife and the blind man are talking about things that happened to them- to them!- these past ten years. I waited in vain to hear my name on my wifes sweet lips And then my dear husband came into my life- something like that (4)
More clues for Bubs immaturity we get with his actions when he is left alone with the blind man, while his wife goes to change. The narrator shares with the reader the protagonist thoughts I wished shed come back downstairs. I didnt want to be left alone with a blind man (44). The husband is embarrassed and feels uncomfortable in his own house, while the visitor said a minute ago, in response to the womans concern, I am comfortable (44). The husband doesnt know what to say so he flights to the first immature act he can think about, that would solve his situation and probably make him feel better, and he offers his guest to smoke some dope with him.
Carver uses dramatic irony to make his point when through a conversation between the husband and his wife, Bubs hostility toward the blind man becomes apparent. Maybe, I could take him bowling. (40) the husband pretends to be unaware of the mans blindness, but he apparently means that he wants to take him bowling, which is something that a blind person is not able to do well at. He despises Robert for having a colored woman as his wife. Her name was Beulah. Beulah! Thats a name for a colored woman. (40) Bub denies everything his wife says about Robert trying to feel better about himself. All this show as very clearly that Bub is narrow minded, this is one of the results or the reason for him being a very lonely man later on in the story we learn from him that he spends most of his evenings smoking dope alone since hes afraid to go to sleep because of his nightmares.
The narrator is not the only one to give us information about the protagonist. The wife and mostly the way she talks to the protagonist reveals a lot of information. In one sentence she sums up him not being friendly and open to other people; You dont have any friends, she said. Period. (40). The wife reflects in the things she says and in her actions Bubs immaturity and lack of sensitivity, in several situations she reacted like a mother would to a child; when he provokes her about the bowling she says ... his wife just died! Dont you understand that? The mans lost his wife!. Later on when Bub asks a silly question in a brave attempt to form some sort of small talk during the first embarrassing moments of meeting the guest, the wife points out how ridiculous the question is, like you would talk to a child for saying something silly; What a question, which side! my wife said (41). Then when the husband turns on the TV his wife gives him an angry look, My wife looked at me with irritation. She was heading toward a boil (4), although we learn this from the protagonist we can be pretty sure that he has interpreted her look correctly and again the wife acts like an educator toward her husband.
The reader is not provided with any specific external description of the wife, not even her name, maybe because of her role in the story as the connector between the two main characters. From the other hand the narrator tells a lot about her life. We know that shes a very independent woman who worked for her living before she got married and had the strength to walk out of a marriage to her childhood sweetheart when she realized she couldnt live the military life he offered her. She seems like a very friendly person, very talkative, since shes not exited about having guests in the house, but only having this special guest. We also learn that shes a sensitive person who can express herself through poetry that she shares with the blind man because she cant do it with her insensitive husband, although she tried once. We collect all this information from the narrative, her husband, when he reports to us what she told him about herself. The narrator hardly tells us what she thinks, and we are left to assume it from the events, the only time he bothers to report her feelings its done through his interpretation of her looks My wife looked at me with irritation (4)and my wife gave me a savage look. (44).
The only information we can learn directly from the character about it is the information we collect from what she says and does. The reader gets a picture of a very confident woman; it seems that she didnt consult her husband before inviting her old friend over but rather confronted him with the fact that hes coming. From her responses to her husband we also get the sense that she wears the pants around the house and it sounds like she orders him around in someway, like the time she tells him to behave himself around the man that has just lost his wife.
The blind man is the only character that Carver has chosen to describe, the narrator that is also the protagonist describes him in details this blind man was late forties, a heavy-set, balding man with stooped shoulders, as if he carried a great weight there. (4). The narrator even bothers to describe to us in details what the blind man was wearing He wore brown slacks, brown shoes, and light brown shirt, a tie, a sports coat. Spiffy. He also had this full beard. (4). The narrator describes in details things that are connected to the blindness of Robert but he didnt use a cane and he didnt wear dark glass…at first glance, his eyes looked like anyone elses eyes. But if you looked close, there was something different about them… (4). But the first thing the husband saw about Robert was "… he was wearing a full beard! A beard on a blind man! Too much, I say." (41). These descriptions are important to the story because they establish once more Bubs confusion about this encounter, from the beginning Robert surprises the husband with his appearance. And they also show again how prejudice he is.
From his actions and the things he says we learn that Robert is a confident man; He squeezed hard, held my hand, and then he let it go. (41, and he talks with this big voice (4). Hes a friendly guy, the kind of person that always has something nice and funny to say …Im like this fellow. When I drink water, Fitzgerald said, u drink water. When I drink whiskey, I drink whiskey. (4). He also knows how to make people feel comfortable around him, like the time he expects Bubs offer to smoke dope with him, although we learn later he didnt smoke before. The reader might also assume, from the blind man actions and speech to the husband and his wife that hes a very sensitive person, like when he ignores the wifes remark to the husbands question about the side on the train and he goes on and answers the question like if it was the most intelligent one, and when he bothers to, occasionally, to ask the husband question about his life.
In the story we learn a lot about Roberts history, like the way he met his wife and the fact that he lost her recently, this information is reported to as by the narrator as he reports what his wife told him. Robert himself reveals other bits of information, like the fact that he watches, or better say listens to, the TV, or the fact that he didnt ride the train ever since he was a boy.
The wife and specially her attitude toward her husband shows again and again how much of a bub he is. She has to tell him how to behave and every time he doesn't behave himself she gives him the look. The husband from the other hand plays along with her and has always something "smart" to say, like when he says "pray the phone won't ring and the food doesn't get cold" (4), when she calls for a prayer before dinner. Bub makes sure she won't take him too seriously. The wife also supplies the reader with the proof for the husband not being too friendly, when she tells him twice that he has no friends. This fact explains him being prejudice, and narrow minded a character that is very crucial to the story.
Robert also treats the husband like a boy that should be excused for misbehaving. Robert ignores Bubs smart remarks and answer his silly questions. This attitude emphasizes even more Bubs immaturity and at the same time it emphasizes Roberts sensitivity. He treats him like a gentleman and that makes the husband even more nervous, jealous and anxious about this visit. But in a way it is also the gate for the development of the husbands character and the change that its about to go through.
After Craver has established the characters for the reader, by the interactions between the three characters in the view of the history of the wife and the blind man, he puts the wife to sleep and he leaves the two men alone to start the real story he wanted to tell. When the wife is not there to come between them, the men start to really talk to each other. Of course Robert, the mature and distinguish man opens the door to the passageway between them, and he says I feel like me and her monopolized the evening. (45), the husband excepts the invitation and appreciates the honesty and says Im glad for the company. (45) and he admits to the readers that he was honest about it; And I guess I was… (45). From that moment on they get closer and closer to each other, with the gentle guideness of Bub opens up. At first listens quietly to the TV set showing very clearly that he was trying to understand what was going on through the spoken text, this silent makes Bub feel that he has to say something and he starts explaining about the pictures he sees on the TV. Then Roberts says but maybe you could describe one to me? I wish youd do it. Id like that. If you want to know, I really dont have a good idea. (46) Bub does his best but he cant describe the cathedral in a way that will be clear to Robert. Robert leads Bub, again in a delicate way , not to blame himself but the cathedral that is a religious thing Bub knows nothing about. After Robert earned Bubs trust he leads him to optimal connection between them, he offers him to take his hand and draw together a cathedral, so Robert will feel with his hand what it is. Bub is touching another person and even more hes touching the blind man who he didnt want to meet or spend time with. This is when Bub experiences his epiphany; he realizes what Robert told him before Learning never ends. (45). Bub learners not to judge with his eyes, as he did all the time before but to feel the things from inside and to learn them. And this is also the theme of the story.
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