Deep Analysis of the Story "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver

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Cathedral
Reading the story Cathedral while not exhibiting an open mind can leave one cringing or angry at the writer. The story written by Raymond Carver was published in 1981. The story appears simple and ordinary but is founded on multiple themes that help hold it together. First of all, there are three main characters in the story: the narrator, the blind man, and the narrator’s wife. The story is based on the blind man’s visit to the narrator’s home. While reading the article, one gets the idea that less is more or that nothing is as it seems. Certain details are not well-defined and even though at first this might seem like it limits the story, it eventually works out well for the story. It is indeed genius of the author to use this mode of writing as it requires the audience or readership to engage deeply with the reading. Additionally, the author makes sure that even in the midst of this minimalist mindset instances of postmodernism appear. Throughout the story, there is no absolute truth or anything that is right or wrong. No one appears to judge the other person or consider their actions as morally more upright than that of others. These are great instances in the story that help to further showcase the genius of Carver. This paper, therefore seeks to delve deeper and analyze the events in the story starting with the story’s background as well as the background of Carver. This paper will also seek to draw comparisons between this work and other literary works or artistic movements as well as offer a critical response to this literary piece. Finally, this work’s importance to the history of literature will be provided and a reaction to the piece will come at the end.
Historical background of the work
Even though it was published in 1981, the story Cathedral was set in the 1970s. The 70s decade was dubbed as the ‘me decade’ by Tom Wolfe because they represented a time when people were looking to enjoy and fulfil themselves. The ‘me decade’ came after issues like the Vietnam War, the Watergate Scandal, and other political issues. People’s eyes and ears had been sold to all that was happening around them and in this decade, the feeling was that people wanted to have a time where they are finding or discovering themselves. Self-fulfilment became part of what people were after. After being majorly Christian, the American public started to drift away from Christianity as seen in the story. When asked whether he was “in any way religious,” the narrator responds saying that he does not believe in anything. He says “I guess I don’t believe in it. In anything. Sometimes it’s hard. You know what I’m saying?” (11) This was a testament to who the American people had turned into.
It is widely believed that the ‘me’ personality and mindset that the American people led to a lot of divorces as people tried to find what they felt made them happy and fulfilled. As the feminist movement continued to empower women and lead them to negotiate for what they wanted, many of them resorted to divorce. “Increases in women’s employment, as well as feminist conscious...