Essay about First-Person Narration Techniques in Cathedral

A first-person narration provides an interesting perspective on the main action of a story. A narrator can express his/her own thoughts and feelings, which in turn develops a more personal and relatable story to the reader. Raymond Carver often uses this literary point-of-view tactic in his short stories to reveal the traits of the narrator. In Cathedral, Carver uses conversational tone and diction to reveal the narrators character; which is prejudicial at first, but becomes empathic by the end. Knowing this narrators characteristics facilitates the readers understanding of major components of the story, such as the narrators hostility to Robert, his loser-like sociality, and the climax of opening up to Robert. One way Carver†¦show more content†¦This bitterness and sarcasm is revealed as strong characteristics of the narrator. Throughout the majority of the story, the narrator continues shows his distaste for any happy situation. Much like the hyphenated asides, Carver implements fragmented sentences behind description, to show the narrator pausing for a moment of color commentary. I saw my wife laughing as she parked the car. I saw her get out of the car and shut the door. She was still wearing a smile. Just amazing (Cathedral 214). This quote illustrates the narrators inclination to state his subjective disbelief of a situation with which he does not agree. The sour statement, just amazing, while unnecessary to the storyline, depicts exactly this. Carver specifically makes the writing seem hostile and cynical, by his use of conversational tone. As a result, we connect these characteristics of the writing with that of the narrator. Through the authors use of diction, more aspects of the narrators personality are revealed. Simply from word choice, we learn that the narrator is prejudicial towards others, and jealous of other mens relationships with his wife. When facing the situation of Robert coming to town to visit his wife, the narrator blatantly expresses that a blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to (Carver 209). This repeated substitution of blind manShow MoreRelatedEssay about Two Levels of Meaning in Carver’s Cathedral1007 Words   |  5 Pages . Two Levels of Meaning in Cathedral nbsp; The short story Cathedral by Raymond Carver develops characters with a dualistic depth. On the surface they have believable human attitudes and attributes, but there is also a level functioning that offers another interpretation. Carver is not only creating a realistic human picture, he uses the old story of the deliverer and reworks it into something unique, fresh. He takes the characters and binds them in the mind of his readersRead MoreW.S. L.P.Hartley Interpretation2168 Words   |  9 Pagesabstract given in the Unit 3, we may say that it has its own climax – the description of panic Walter feels when he receives the third postcard (â€Å"A wave of panic surged up in Walter Streeter†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ). There’re two plot techniques used by the author. The first one is the straight line narration – the plain, chronological representation of events. The second one is the retardation, which is presented mostly through Walter’s wavering, the life of his mind. As the story is a thriller, the author withdraws someRead MoreElements of Postmodernism in Ishmael Reeds Mumbo Jumbo, Don Delillos White Noise, Toni Morrisons Beloved and Thomas Pynchons the Crying of Lot 496348 Words   |  26 Pagespostmodernisms most distinguishable elements. Throught these four novels one can perceive the concepts of potmodernism, from its assault upon traditional narratives to the role of the individual in an impersonal, emotionless society. The narrative techniques applied by the authors are entirely consistent with the postmodern strive to break up the structure of the text and to involve the reader and give him a significant role in the creation process. White Noise is abundant in lists of three productsRead MoreIntramuros a Must See4034 Words   |  17 Pagesmost people go relieve themselves with the history of Manila and the whole Philippines is quite big as it was the capital of the Philippines during the Spanish Era. Therefore the mode of transportation needed to explore the Walled City should be the first thing a tourist should think about. There are many ways to tour around Intramuros and these can either be by walking, by riding a pedicab, by hiring a Kalesa, or by going for a tour program. One of the ways to tour Intramuros is touring by foot which