Essay

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Ait Mbark

1

Ait Mbark

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, 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 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. 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:” (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 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.

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