What Is The Theme Of Alcoholism In Cathedral By Raymond...

In â€Å"Cathedral†, a short story by Raymond Carver, an unnamed narrator awaits the arrival of a friend of his wife’s, a blind man named Robert. Robert is stopping by for a visit on the way to his recently dead wife’s relatives. The narrator is not happy about the relationship his wife has with Robert, so he drinks constantly throughout the story. He even smokes marijuana near to keep his mind off of the situation. This trait that the narrator has can be linked back to the author Raymond Carver, who was a suffering alcoholic for many years. By the time Carver wrote this story, he had been alcohol free for three years, so his unconscious desire to return to drinking is shown through the narrator. The narrator also has a hidden desire of using†¦show more content†¦He barely speaks any words about himself, instead he chooses to tell everything about his wife’s life. When the narrator speaks of his wife’s first husband, he says â€Å"this man who’d first enjoyed her favors†¦why should he have a name?† (Carver 275). The way he words these phrases shows how he is trying to hide the fact that his wife has been with another man. The insecurities about the relationship probably began when the wife told the narrator that Robert â€Å"asked if he could touch her face. She agreed to this. She told me he touched his fingers to every part of her face, her nose—even her neck† (Carver 274). The narrator doesn’t say anymore on the topic and decides to move on, but the silence shows how he doesn’t approve of the situation. The narrator felt that his wife â€Å"told [Robert] everything, or so it seemed to me† (Carver 275). When the wife notices how the narrator is uncomfortable about Robert she says â€Å"If you love me, you can do this for me. If you don’t love me, okay† (Carver 276), which shows that she doesn’t have much stake in the relationship either. The narrator describes in detail how his wife is happy and smiling as she is talking to Robert, but when she â€Å"finally took her eyes off the blind man and looked at me. I had the feeling she didn’t like what she saw† (Carver 278). He even begins to get jealous that his doesn’t even mention him as she tells her life story. â€Å"I waited in vain to hear my name on my wife’sShow MoreRelatedAlcohol and Marijuana in Catherdral by Raymond Carver Essay963 Words   |  4 Pagesand encage in behaviors out of the ordinary. Drugs and alcohol are used in the story â€Å"Cathedral† but also they are used in Raymond Carver’s personal life. Carver began drinking heavily in 1967 and was repeatedly hospitalized for alcoholism in the 1970’s. Carver’s minimum wage jobs, the demand of parenting and the need to bring money home led to his addiction to alcohol. Alcohol became a problem because carver was saddled with an old car, a rented house, and a serious debt as well as perennial wagonloadRead MoreThe Lives and Works of Raymond Carver1692 Words   |  7 PagesWith a unique and brilliant style of writing, Raymond Carver has left a lasting and outstanding impact on the history of short stories. Even though Raymond Carver left a long impact, his life was of the opposite. Like Raymond Carver’s famous award winning stories, his life was short. Raymond Carver was born on May 25th, 1938 in Clatskanie, Oregon, a mill town on the Columbia River. Carver grew up in Yakima, Washington. Carver had three members to his small family, his mother, his father, and brotherRead MorePersuasive Essay804 Words   |  4 PagesPersuasive Essay In 1983, Raymond Carver introduced his short story â€Å"Cathedral† to the public. The first-person narrative takes place within the narrator’s home, where his wife is waiting upon the arrival of her blind friend Robert. The narrator, however, becomes more concerned about how Robert’s visit will affect him rather than enjoy the situation. Once Robert arrives, the narrator tries to understand the blind man, but he is unaware of what tasks Robert is capable of performing due to the narrator’sRead MoreThe Meaning Behind Seeing By Raymond Carver1767 Words   |  8 PagesThe Meaning Behind Seeing In the short story â€Å"Cathedral† by Raymond Carver, there is a very insightful message spoken about the true definitions between having sight and being able to see. The story focuses on three characters, and they each have emotions connected to one another, whether it be trust, jealousy or compassion. These characters include a blind man named Robert, the narrator who is unnamed in the story, and his wife who also does not receive a name for the story line. Each of theseRead MoreThe Two Sides Essay1379 Words   |  6 PagesThe Two Sides The views we have are what shapes us, sometimes we have vast knowledge of ideas. Other times we are limited in what we can understand. We are given the choice of seeking out more of said idea or choosing to remain as is. Cathedral by Raymond Carver is a story that gives us a look into what it is like to have our views challenged through experiencing them first hand. We are introduced to the story by narration and we are given a brief summary of how his wife and the blind man hadRead More Disjunction versus Communion in Raymond Carvers Short Stories3821 Words   |  16 Pages Disjunction versus Communion in Raymond Carvers Short Stories Raymond Carver, poet, essayist, and short story writer, was very different from some other writers in that he clipped his writing until only the essential remained. Carver not only acknowledged the effect that fiction could have on readers, he proclaimed that it should affect readers.( Bonetti 58) Thus, when Carver writes about intimate relationships, the reader perceives the stories as more than entertainment or skillfulRead MoreRaymond Carver and his Works1402 Words   |  6 Pagesthat you have to creator’s life to see where the story actually comes from. No matter what we do in life we all as human beings find a way to show what we have been through in our lives. Raymond Carver was no different just he had a really tough road that he traveled and it showed in his stories. According to an interview with William, Stull in â€Å"Matters of Life Death: An Interview with Raymond Carver† Carver also understood that his life showed through in his work, â€Å"Wolff said in a review of my