Cathedral

2 Pages 517 Words

Question: Compare the two couples evolving in Raymond Carver's Cathedral.


Overcoming Differences

Human being in nature is an integrated system that is influenced by his complex environment. As a matter of fact, we interact with our surrounding; human being is always seeking for a mate. In the following essay, I will discuss the differences between the two couples who evolve in Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral”; such as religious beliefs, physical appearance and relationship.
Firstly, physical appearance plays a major role in today’s society. In our time, most people judge their equals based on their look, not their core. In “Cathedral”, Robert, a blind man, and his wife give no importance to perception. Their love is true and it is not based on the exterior. In contrast, the narrator overplays the importance of vision and physical appearance: “All this without his having ever seen what the goddamned woman looked like. It was beyond my understanding” (11). It is obvious that his love isn’t based on fundamental values. Had his wife been different looking, it is very likely that they wouldn’t be together.
Secondly, religious beliefs of the two couples are an issue that seems to divide whole populations and often it is used as a pretext to initiate conflicts. The author makes it clear that the two couples do not share the same spiritual values. In the story, Robert and his wife appear to be religious persons; they both agree to marry in a church: “Pretty soon Beulah and the blind man had themselves a church wedding” (11). On the other hand, the narrator openly states, while talking to Robert, that he does not believe in God: “I guess I don’t believe in it. In anything” (14). On a different occasion, he also makes fun of the prayer and says: “Pray the phone won’t ring and the food doesn’t get cold” (12). His couple does not share the same divine beliefs.
Thirdly, relationship in a couple has good ...