Raymond Carver's Cathedral

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In the 1980’s no one could predict what was to come. Ronald Reagan started the decade as president of the United States, taking us into a decade of change. Gas prices started to plunge as trade was open up from the Middle East and US drilling efforts in Alaska increased ending the petroleum crisis that dominated the 70’s. It is at this time when automobiles started to get better gas mileage and people were living farther away from home that the suburbs come into their own prominence and start to grow. It’s up until and past this time that writers like Raymond Carver and John Updike try and catch the mood and feelings of these suburban areas that produce an unlimited amount of stories. In Raymond Carver’s, Cathedral, the author pulls a snippet…show more content…
His style is mostly defined as minimalist, but John Barth coined the term, “Post-Alcoholic Blue-Collar Minimalist Hyperrealism” (“Raymond Carver” 1494). It’s this latter quote that is far more descriptive but most accurate about him. Carver was an alcoholic at one time then quit, but he brings that firsthand knowledge and escapism he once endured to his writings (Carver 1495). Cathedral was written in 1983 and centers around 3 characters that have a unique relation between them. Carver takes some of himself and puts it into all three characters, so you see what Carver sees in as close of detail as he could make…show more content…
The story is about support, but it is also about family. Each one supports the other, and the ending seems to close the loop. When the wife goes and works for Robert we see a strong bond form, so much, they never loose contact even through divorce, and suicide attempt (Carver 1496). The narrator is connected to his wife, through a similar context. You can see she has told the narrator everything, and in return he has told her everything. The reader can never be certain of love in this relationship by a quote from the wife and the lack of the answer, “If you love me… you can do this for me. If you don’t love me, okay” (Carver 1497). This shows the relationship of the wife and narrator more than anything. They are both engrossed in each other’s life, but neither is sure on the love part, more of mutual support, which seems to be the key behind the
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