Raymond Carter’s “Cathedral” – Discussion Questions I’m not looking for you to write a novel when you answer the questions, but I am looking for
you to answer fully. A simple fires” or “no” is definitely not the answer I’m looking for on
some of these questions. Also, all the while you’re reading the story and while you’re going
through these questions, you should be thinking about how Foster talks about communion
in chapter 2 of How to ReadLJ’rei-ature like a Mites-tic Answer the questions in a separate Word doc, with your answers in a numbered list {you
don’t need to copy over the actual questions, just the answers). Bigger Issues: 1.) Is the narrator a sympathetic protagonist?
2.) Does our opinion of him change as the story progresses? Does the narrator develop or
change or “grow” over the course of the evening? 3.) are the primary emotions displayed by the narrator throughout, and how can we
understand them in terms of the life he leads? 4.) role does alcohol play in his life? 5.) is the narrator’s attitude toward his wife? 5.) Describe the narrator’s marriage. kind of marriage do they have, and what evidence do
you find to support your conclusion? 3′.) Is the narrator’s jealousy of Robert irrational? 3.) is it specifically about Robert that unsettles the narrator? 9.) does Robert do to put the narrator at case? 11].] How does Robert shatter the narrator’s preconceived notions of blind people? 11.) How does his appearance and his mannerisms resist every stereotypical image the narrator
has about blind people?
12.) Why is this so upsetting?
13.) does the narrator learn from his encounter with Robert?
14.) Is the ending convincing?
15.) Do you believe that there will be a significant change in his outlook from this point on?
16.) Contrast the author’s tone and the narrator’s mood at the opening of the story with the tone
and mood at the end.
17.) How does the change in style reflect the change that has occurred in the narrator?
18.) How or why is the cathedral an important image or symbol in the story?
19.) is the significance of Carver’s choice of a cathedral as catalyst for the narrator’s
learning experience?
20.) added dimension does this symbol bring to our understanding of the story?
Smaller Issues:
21.) is important about the two flashbacks (the ones about the narrator’s wife’s past and
Robert’s past)?
22.) Discuss the nickname “Bub.”
23.) Why such a “feeding frenzy” at dinner?
24.) Why the repeated references to Robert lifting his beard? 25.jHow does alcohol and marijuana play a role in the story?
26.)Why is it important that the setting is the narrator’s house?
2?.) is important about the references to the narrator’s wife’s poems and tapes? Ideas about Themes: 23J does Robert “see” over the course of the evening? 29.) In what ways is this story about communion? 30.) In what ways is this story about communication and connectedness? {Think about the
poems, the tapes, the ham radio, etc.)
