Essay

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Ayyoub Ait Mbark

Christine Redman-Waldeyer

EN-102-OL2

10 July 2020

Themes, Minimalism, and Irony: “Cathedral”

Works of literature use language creatively to address human concerns and their

relationship with the environment. In creative writing, authors incorporate archetypical

characters to epitomize core human traits, experiences, and worldviews. Literary devices such

as irony and metaphors provide an extensive presentation of such expertise for readers and

individual interpretation, achieving a minimalist approach in literature. The minimalist

approach in short story characteristics includes open and straightforward, dialogues, non-

heroic characters, and the narration in flashback (Krasniqi 55). Works of literature, such as

poetry, novel, and short stories employ literary devices to address human experiences. In

“Cathedral,” Carver Raymond uses elements of minimalism and irony to illustrate fundamental

social concerns including jealousy, insecurities, connection, isolation, detachment, and

blindness.

Jealousy is a fundamental human emotion that Carver employs via an unnamed narrator

for thematic effect in the short story. The narrator seems to be displeased with Robert’s visits and

is jealous of their robust connection with the unnamed narrator’s wife: “Now, this same blind

man was coming over to sleep in my house” (Carver 3). The statement indicates emotional and

jealousy towards Robert. Raymond utilizes offensive and demeaning words to belittle Robert,

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due to the close connection between him and the narrator’s wife. Similarly, the author’s

advancement makes to “spy” on the wife accessing the tapes, poems concerning the disruption of

Robert indicate the advances of what jealousy can indulge in a typical character as a

representation of human beings and dealing within relationship affairs. Raymond vividly

describes the “last touch” between Robert and the narrator’s wife, in order to illustrate the

narrator’s jealousy. “She told me he touched his fingers to every part of her face, her nose—even

her neck!” (Carver 1). According to the statement, the unnamed narrator’s stressing on “neck”

illustrates existing jealousy towards Robert and the narrator’s wife. The author’s report indicates

advancement in verbal envy within the unnamed narrator in the short story. Therefore, the

actions of an unnamed narrator towards Robert illustrate jealousy as human emotion.

Insecurity is a significant concern that Carver portrays through the unnamed narrator’s

presentation in the short story. The narrator’s jealousy of the connection between his wife,

Robert, and an identified narrator first wife’s husband posits significant illustrations of

insecurity. In the short story, the narrator’s refusal to access on some tape of wife’s

communication with Robert illustrates the aspect of vulnerability. Carver employs minimalism

for readers to suggest the existing insecurity, prompting an unnamed narrator against accessing

conversation between Robert and the narrator’s wife. The presentation of uncertainty in a subtle

manner within the story is significant, symbolizing superiority that the narrator seems to

experience over Robert due to his inability to see that, later, provide a fundamental intellectual in

viewing and understanding in the short story. The narrator’s insecurity concerning Robert and his

wife does not allow him to accept Robert’s coming over at his place. The reader establishes a

fundamental notion on the possible reconnection of the narrator’s wife and Robert, hence making

the narrator insecurely and reluctantly accept Robert’s visit. Thus, in the short story, Carver uses

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a minimalist approach to present the theme of vulnerability as considerable human experiences

in relationships.

Connections and strong bonds are relevant human experiences experienced both in a

subtle and concrete manner. In the “Cathedral,” Carver illustrates the theme through the

narrator’s wife and Robert. Carver relates to a myriad of events to show a strong bond between

the narrator’s wife and Robert. Firstly, the narrator’s wife sends the narrator’s tapes to keep the

connection that seems to bother an unnamed narrator in the short story. Moreover, through a

minimalist approach, Carver illustrates to the readers that the experience of Robert touching the

narrator’s wife’s face is significant in the showing of strong bond and connection as a

fundamental human concern. For instance, in the short story, the narrator’s wife attempted to

write a poem to embrace her experience while making advancements towards her through touch.

The use of verse in the short story is symbolic, showing inner thoughts and feelings expressed in

a compressed economy of words. The narrator’s wife’s use of the poem on her experience with

Robert suggests bond and connection as a significant human feeling in the story. Significantly,

the audiotapes that Robert and narrators’ wife sent each involved sound and not videos. The

symbolic meaning of the audio messages suggests a powerful connection between Robert and the

narrator’s wife’s empathy towards each other. Therefore, the author employs a minimalist

approach in literature to suggest a significant bond and connection between Robert and the

narrator’s wife, putting forward the theme of the relationship as fundamental human emotions.

In the short story, Carver illustrates the theme of connection as a binary human

experience. Despite the compelling relationship between Robert and the narrator’s wife, the

narrator yarns for a similar connection with his wife. In the first scenario, the narrator waits to

hear his name mentioned in the tape, illustrating the longing for a relationship with the wife.

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Consequently, at the dinner table, the narrator feels detached from his wife and isolation in the

chitchat in their house, showing a dire need for connection with his wife. For instance, in the

statement when the narrator explains, “My wife finally took her eyes off the blind man and

looked at me” (Carver 6). The proclamation is significant for isolation and longing. In the

statement, Carver illustrates the undying need of the narrator longing for a similar connection

form his wife as it is with Robert. However, in the scenario, readers may suggest situational

irony in the presentation of the longing for a connection with your partners, someone you spent

time with every day. The situation of disconnection between the narrator and his wife indicates

cosmic irony in the daily occurrence. The realism in life experience, however, presents contrary

to people’s expectations. Therefore in the theme of connection and disconnection, the author

employs elements of styles such as irony and minimalism to achieve binary display of

connection as the human concern in the short story.

Detachment is an essential human feeling relating to others and surrounding people.

Carver presents the isolation experience through the narrator’s actions and thoughts. In the initial

occurrences, the narrator feels detached from his wife and Robert’s conversation while in their

house. One can suggest that through a detailed minimalism approach, the feeling of detachment

of the narrator towards his wife and Robert’s chats, results from disconnection existing between

the narrator and his wife. There are several instances in the short story showing social

experiences of detachment as at human experiences and their relationship with the environment.

Firstly, when the narrator’s wife and Robert expected the narrator to say a word of prayer, the

narrator makes a joke. Secondly, in the dialogue between Robert and the narrator, an individual

identified the detachment from religion and God from the narrator’s philosophical standpoint.

For instance, the narrator’s response to Robert as, “I guess I don’t believe in it. In anything:”

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(Carver 11), illustrates, the detachment. The concept of the narrator’s disconnection is significant

in presenting the theme in the short story. Therefore, the author employs a minimalist approach

to provide the readers with a platform to suggest that the narrator is detached from people and

other advanced human experiences such as religion and detachment from God.

In the mythology presentation, the theme of blindness articulates wisdom and insightful

experiences in human interaction with others and the environment. Similarly, in “Cathedral,”

Carver illustrates the theme of blindness to represent wisdom and freedom of self-imagination in

relationship with the environment and others. In the narrator’s intellectual and philosophical

presentation, blindness is a physical deficiency that makes Robert as a lesser human being

compared to him. In a paradox, the cathedral drawing’s symbolic performance reveals that

blindness is not related to physical inability in seeing, but the intimate experience of wisdom and

insightful knowledge for interpretation and imagination relating to the world around people. The

climax in the short story refers to the blindness as the ability to provide wisdom and insightful

analysis of events, ideas, and objects. For instance, the narrator closes his eye to let Robert teach

him more about the Cathedral’s imagination and insightful experience. Carver employs

situational irony to illustrate the theme of blindness to wisdom and perceptive creativity instead

of physical inability. Significantly, the author achieves equality despite blindness when Robert

and the narrator sit on a coffee table. The experience is a metaphor for equality among men

despite the physical inabilities that may exist. Therefore the author’s illustration of blindness

shows a lack of wisdom and freedom of creative imagination and not physical blindness.

In conclusion, “Cathedral,” Carver Raymond has employed literary devices such as

minimalism and irony to illustrate fundamental human experiences such as jealousy, insecurities,

connection, isolation, detachment, and blindness. The thematic analysis of the short story relates

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to literary devices showing a fundamental need for wisdom and free imagination in daily human

experiences. Similarity, subject matters such as connection, isolation, detachment, and jealousy

are underscored in the short story. Therefore the short story is a metaphor of human experiences

and their relationship with the environment.

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Works Cited

Carver, Raymond, 1938-1988. Cathedral: Stories. New York: Vintage Books, 19891983.

Krasniqi, Meliza. “Minimalism in Literature” European Journal of Language and Literature

Studies. Vol. 4. Issue.4 2018