Discovery Within
The authors of these two pieces of literature are married. They are both known for their short stories and poems. Raymond Carver, the author of Cathedral, shows his writing style through the blind mans hardships in life and abrupt ending. Tess Gallagher, the author of Sudden Journey, shows her intimate, personal style of writing by portraying a little girl and how she feels about the rain. Cathedral and Sudden Journey both depict transformation; while Cathedral shows self transformation through an encounter with a blind man; Sudden Journey shows it in a return to childhood.
Raymond Carvers short story, Cathedral, portrays a story about how society is quick to judge someone who is not normal. In the beginning of the story, the readers are introduced to a man who seems to be agitated by a blind man, Robert. The narrator gives his thoughts saying, He was no one I knew. And his being blind bothered me. My idea of blindness came from the movies. In the movies, the blind moved slowly and never laughed. Sometimes they were led by seeing-eye dogs. A blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to (Carver 20-21). Raymond Carver, the author, is the assumed speaker in the story and does not give himself a name. He shows ignorance by stereotyping a blind man named Robert, who has come to stay with him and his wife. From the beginning, Carver shows detest for Robert, but throughout the story there is a transformation.
The story begins with a description of the relationship between the narrators wife and Robert. The narrators wife, whose name is never mentioned in the story, worked for Robert for ten years. He had her read reports and case studies because his blindness made him unable to do so. She had not seen him in ten years, but they still kept in touch and mailed recorded tapes back and forth. The story also talks about the narrators wife and her past relationship with her first husband which is the main reason why Robert and the wife still keep in contact.
After discussing in many tapes back and forth, she decides that Robert should come for a visit since he has just been through the death of his own wife and is now alone. As it says in the story, the narrator is not enthusiastic about the blind man coming and it really bothered him that he was blind: [Robert] didnt use a cane and he didnt wear dark glasses: Id always thought dark glasses were a must for the blind. Fact was, Id wish he had a pair (Carver 24). When Robert comes in the house, the reader can tell the narrator was not excited about his arrival and his wife instantly disapproves of his attitude toward the man. They are introduced to each other and Robert refers to the narrator as Bub like a nickname. The narrator says, Then I wanted to say something else, small-talk, about the scenic ride along the Hudson. How going to New York, you should sit on the right-hand side of the train, and coming from New York the left-hand side. Did you have a good train ride (Carver 23). These are the things the narrator wanted to talk about but since Robert is blind the narrator does not know how to connect with Robert to talk about other things.
After supper they moved their way into the living room to relax before bed. At this point, the narrator seems to be a little bit more relaxed with the blind man. Robert and his wife sat on the couch while Carver sat in the chair listening, adding a few comments to not feel left out and also to make sure the blind man knew he did not leave. The two sat and talked about everything, but mostly about Robert, who has accomplished many things in his life. Finally, when I thought [Robert] was beginning to run down, I got up and turned on the TV: (Carver 25) [The wife] asks if he had a TV, and Robert replies, My dear, I have two TVs. I have a color set and a black-and-white thing, an old relic. Its funny, but if I turn the TV on, and Im always turning it on, I turn on the color set. Its funny dont you think (Carver 25). The narrator had nothing to say, he did not care that Robert could turn on a TV, however, the narrator is shocked that Robert can tell the TV is colored. The narrator sits and tries not only to watch the TV but listen, so the narrator is getting insights on what it is like to be blind.
This is where the turning point comes in. The narrator rolls some dope and asks if Robert wants to try some. The narrator persuades him by saying, This stuff is pretty mellow. This stuff is mild. Its dope you can reason with. It doesnt mess you up (Carver 26). This is where the two men bond and Carver seems happy for the company.
A show about Cathedrals appears on T.V. and after a while Robert asks the narrator to explain what the Cathedral looks like. He starts to describe what it looks like but then stops and says, Im not doing so good, am I (Carver 28). Robert then asks him if he would mind drawing with him, so the narrator gets up and gets a piece of paper and other supplies and comes back. They begin on their project. At this point the interaction changes between the characters. Robert places his hand on the narrators and he begins to draw. As they are drawing Robert asks the narrator if he would close his eyes and continue to draw, and the narrator obeys and continues to draw. This is the climax of the story because the narrator now gets a glimpse of blindness and the narrator is in awe. Roberts tells the narrator to open his eyes and look at the picture, but the narrator keeps his eyes closed. He gets an epiphany and says, Its really something (Carver 30).
Cathedral shows a mans acceptance of change and Sudden Journey reverts back to a womans childhood. Tess Gallaghers Sudden Journey is a poem in which the speaker, now an adult, reflects back on her childhood. It describes an exciting time in the speakers life. This is a special memory for her because at age seven she felt young and free. In the poem, the speaker is not only drinking the rain, but she gets a sudden urge to gulp the rain as stated, I can drink anywhere (Gallagher 12). The reader gets a clear image in his/her head of the little girl in the pouring rain, drenched, and enjoying every moment.
There is no rhyme scheme in Sudden Journey and the syllables vary from line to line. The reader can assume that Gallagher chose free verse to show freedom that the speaker felt at age seven. An example of freedom is, I open my face. Let the teeth show. I/ pull my shirt down past the collar-bones (9-10). A rhyme scheme would have restricted the poem and taken the feeling of excitement and wonder. At age seven, she had no restrictions and was free to experience the rain as she felt it. Sentences are short; observations are direct and simple, and fairly straightforward. The word journey can be viewed as a symbol that represents the path back to her childhood or literally the journey she took in the rain as a girl.
This poem could have two meanings, it could be taken as the many experiences through life, or everything could be taken as literally. The phrase with my arms out running (14-15) could show a person experiencing life as it comes. It could also mean taking on many responsibilities in life. If the reader looks deeper into this poem it talks about Gallaghers personal successes and failures she goes through as an adult.
On the literal side of the poem, she describes that she is maybe seven so she is looking back on her childhood, then it starts to rain and she describes how the rain feels on her wrists and she looks up to catch the rain in her mouth. In the poem it says that, Im still a boy under my breast spots, (11) so Gallaghers stating that the girl is not fully developed into a woman yet. She gets the urge to gulp that water saying, I can drink anywhere (Line 12). The reader understood that to mean she is young and free and has no direct rules. At the end of the poem she describes what the rain feels like in her mouth saying that there is a great abundance of rain as she can run and be free just like the rain falling from the sky. The poem starts out with a childlike perspective and transforms into an adult perspective. The writer is also using simple diction and then transforms to more complex words.
In Cathedral, The narrators perspective is bias. He changes from being a judgmental person to a caring man. In Sudden Journey, her perspective is personal. She sees life as more intimate. Even though the short story and poem have different perspectives they both encounter an eye-opening experience. In Cathedral, the epiphany is when the narrator draws with the blind man. In Sudden Journey her epiphany is from a childhood experience.
Carver uses a minimalist approach that compares to Hemingway and Chekhov. He writes about down-and-out, middle-class people facing hardships. His stories end abruptly without specific endings (Carver 38). Tess Gallagher uses a more personal, intimate voice in her poems. She is almost always the speaker or persona in her poems (Gallagher 6). Carvers stories could happen anywhere and are pretty much true. His stories do not require any background material or preparation to reading or understanding. Tess Gallagher wrote thousands of poems over her lifetime, but her best work came when her husband Raymond Carver died. She wrote about his death and her grief afterwards. She also dedicated her time/life editing Carvers works.
In reading Cathedral and Sudden Journey the writers depict transformation by comparing a blind mans hardships to a girls childhood experience. Raymond Carver and Tess Gallagher present their unique writing styles by using an epiphany to show different perspectives of a short story/poem.
Works Cited
Booth, Alison, J. Paul Hunter, and Kelly J. Mays. The Norton Introduction to Literature. New York: W.W. Norton, 2005.
McFarland, Ronald E. Tess Gallagher. Boise, ID: Boise State University, 1995.
Sklenicka, Carol. Raymond Carver: a Writer's Life. New York: Scribner, 2009.
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