Cathedral
I find it very interesting that a blind man could know so much. Robert the blind man, he does not want to be treated differently by the narrator and his wife. He just wants company. His wife has died and he does not want to be alone. It surprises me that a blind man could know so much, he can not see anything, but just the way he feels things and hears them is very impressing. He is just as aware about anything as any other person who is not blind. Why pitty a person if they know just as much as you do? The narrator is stubborn. He is like the other characters in this book. He drinks, watches TV and is indifferent with his wife. He is weak, because he feels jelousy towards the blind man and he feels uncomfortable. Only a weak person would not know how to act around a disbale person. Robert changes him. Robert puts the narrator in his shoes. Its incredible how both fo them with their eyes clothes are able to draw a Cathedral. The secret must be trust, you don’t have to see something to know how it is, but maybe you just have to feel it and then be able to imagine it. That is exactly what these two men did. It is important to always trust your instics. The narrator is able to feel emoptional at the end, when at the beginning he was just annoying to his wife and did not care for a blind man’s visit. This blind man probably changed his life, he probably changed the narrators way of looking at life.
I think that this story is ironic, because it has to do with a blind man, but the message being that people are blind. The blind man has a better life and a better way of looking at life, while the others live in a world full of jealousy, alcohol, and ignorance. They don’t care about anything. I think the whole book has to do with this. All of the characters are so ignorant. The book ends with Cathedral, because that’s how Carver makes his point. That how he shows that some people just don’t know where they are standing, but the a blind man does. It is not the blind man who is blind, but the other people who are blind. They have their eyes wide open and they can not even see the world as it is.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
A New Life (Cathedral)
Fever
This short story is extremely sad, but at the same time the ending is very beautiful. Carlyle starts out the story being very weak and sad. His selfish wife leaves him for his colleague. She leaves him and the children. What kind of a mother could do such a thing? Leave your husband, but don’t leave your children. She’s an artist, and artists tend to have a stereotype to be crazy. She calls him every day, trying to cheer him up, but she ruined his life. She doesn’t realize how horrible she is for leaving her family behind. She calls to tell Carlyle how happy she is. It’s like as if rubs her happiness in his face. She is evil I do not like her. Although, I do think the problem in this relationship is that they fell in love to young. They were in college, she was 18 and he was 19. Many young marriages usually do not work out. There’s always one person who feels that they have missed out on a lot of their life.
“They need someone, you see. We need someone we can count on. I guess that’s our problem.” (p.170) For Carlyle and his children, their mother/wife has left them. They can get a descent babysitter to actually stay or that they like, and Carlyle just feels so sad and frustrated. Mrs. Webster is an angel for them. She comes into their lives making things better and easier for all of them. At the end she leaves, but she leaves and Carlyle becomes a stronger man being ready to let go of his past and just focus on his future and his children. Carlyle is a good person. I like this story a lot because I feel that it brings out a message that nobody should give up. You can be very weak, but in the end there is always a way to become stronger. You just have to try.
This short story is extremely sad, but at the same time the ending is very beautiful. Carlyle starts out the story being very weak and sad. His selfish wife leaves him for his colleague. She leaves him and the children. What kind of a mother could do such a thing? Leave your husband, but don’t leave your children. She’s an artist, and artists tend to have a stereotype to be crazy. She calls him every day, trying to cheer him up, but she ruined his life. She doesn’t realize how horrible she is for leaving her family behind. She calls to tell Carlyle how happy she is. It’s like as if rubs her happiness in his face. She is evil I do not like her. Although, I do think the problem in this relationship is that they fell in love to young. They were in college, she was 18 and he was 19. Many young marriages usually do not work out. There’s always one person who feels that they have missed out on a lot of their life.
“They need someone, you see. We need someone we can count on. I guess that’s our problem.” (p.170) For Carlyle and his children, their mother/wife has left them. They can get a descent babysitter to actually stay or that they like, and Carlyle just feels so sad and frustrated. Mrs. Webster is an angel for them. She comes into their lives making things better and easier for all of them. At the end she leaves, but she leaves and Carlyle becomes a stronger man being ready to let go of his past and just focus on his future and his children. Carlyle is a good person. I like this story a lot because I feel that it brings out a message that nobody should give up. You can be very weak, but in the end there is always a way to become stronger. You just have to try.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Looking For Luck (Cathedral)
The Bridle
In this short story nothing really goes on. The Holits family moves to Arizona looking for luck. From what I read and understood, I think they have lived in many places before Arizona and Minnesota. The narrator seems like a good person. She rents out the apartment to them and also does Betty Holits hair. She knows that there is something weird about the Holits family and so we know it too. They seem to be running away from everything. What are they running from? Why do they immediately leave after Holits accident? Nothing bad happened, no one got in trouble. Holits got hurt, but it was not such a big deal. Betty also seems like a good person. I can tell she is a very strong person, but at the same time very weak. She keeps her family moving forward. She works day and night shift while Holits does nothing, while he drinks and gambles the family money away. I could never imagine being the Holits kids and having to move quickly without even knowing where my parents are taking me. I would not like that life at all. The kids know that they are moving, they have no idea where to, but they know that it is because there is no more money. This life style seems so sad. “ I think they’re going somewhere else to try their luck.” (p.206) this quote is at the end. You can just run away from your problems. You cant keep things behind, your life, your problems behind. Life has solutions and you can not rely on luck. Does luck even exist?
In this short story nothing really goes on. The Holits family moves to Arizona looking for luck. From what I read and understood, I think they have lived in many places before Arizona and Minnesota. The narrator seems like a good person. She rents out the apartment to them and also does Betty Holits hair. She knows that there is something weird about the Holits family and so we know it too. They seem to be running away from everything. What are they running from? Why do they immediately leave after Holits accident? Nothing bad happened, no one got in trouble. Holits got hurt, but it was not such a big deal. Betty also seems like a good person. I can tell she is a very strong person, but at the same time very weak. She keeps her family moving forward. She works day and night shift while Holits does nothing, while he drinks and gambles the family money away. I could never imagine being the Holits kids and having to move quickly without even knowing where my parents are taking me. I would not like that life at all. The kids know that they are moving, they have no idea where to, but they know that it is because there is no more money. This life style seems so sad. “ I think they’re going somewhere else to try their luck.” (p.206) this quote is at the end. You can just run away from your problems. You cant keep things behind, your life, your problems behind. Life has solutions and you can not rely on luck. Does luck even exist?
Looking For Luck (Cathedral)
The Bridle
In this short story nothing really goes on. The Holits family moves to Arizona looking for luck. From what I read and understood, I think they have lived in many places before Arizona and Minnesota. The narrator seems like a good person. She rents out the apartment to them and also does Betty Holits hair. She knows that there is something weird about the Holits family and so we know it too. They seem to be running away from everything. What are they running from? Why do they immediately leave after Holits accident? Nothing bad happened, no one got in trouble. Holits got hurt, but it was not such a big deal. Betty also seems like a good person. I can tell she is a very strong person, but at the same time very weak. She keeps her family moving forward. She works day and night shift while Holits does nothing, while he drinks and gambles the family money away. I could never imagine being the Holits kids and having to move quickly without even knowing where my parents are taking me. I would not like that life at all. The kids know that they are moving, they have no idea where to, but they know that it is because there is no more money. This life style seems so sad. “ I think they’re going somewhere else to try their luck.” (p.206) this quote is at the end. You can just run away from your problems. You cant keep things behind, your life, your problems behind. Life has solutions and you can not rely on luck. Does luck even exist?
In this short story nothing really goes on. The Holits family moves to Arizona looking for luck. From what I read and understood, I think they have lived in many places before Arizona and Minnesota. The narrator seems like a good person. She rents out the apartment to them and also does Betty Holits hair. She knows that there is something weird about the Holits family and so we know it too. They seem to be running away from everything. What are they running from? Why do they immediately leave after Holits accident? Nothing bad happened, no one got in trouble. Holits got hurt, but it was not such a big deal. Betty also seems like a good person. I can tell she is a very strong person, but at the same time very weak. She keeps her family moving forward. She works day and night shift while Holits does nothing, while he drinks and gambles the family money away. I could never imagine being the Holits kids and having to move quickly without even knowing where my parents are taking me. I would not like that life at all. The kids know that they are moving, they have no idea where to, but they know that it is because there is no more money. This life style seems so sad. “ I think they’re going somewhere else to try their luck.” (p.206) this quote is at the end. You can just run away from your problems. You cant keep things behind, your life, your problems behind. Life has solutions and you can not rely on luck. Does luck even exist?
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
People and a Train (Cathedral)
The Train
I wonder who the narrator is. I wonder if he was just a person in the public watching everything go on. We learn about Miss Dent, obviously a furious leady holing a gun and threatening a man for some reason. But who is this man? What did this man do to her that made her so mad? Obviously she knew the man, because she asked him many questions about a girl and what had happened. But could this man have been something close to her or close to a friend of hers? Because she seemed extremely mad. She wanted to teach him a lesson. She wanted to teach him a life long lesson about how to treat people’s feelings. She was violent. She wanted him to suffer. There were other different characters. There was the shoeless man on a hurry to catch a Train, and the Italian woman. But why are these people being talked about? I don’t understand this story. I don’t understand the point of it. We have a Train Station and a Train, so what is next? What happens? This story was meaningless to me.
I wonder who the narrator is. I wonder if he was just a person in the public watching everything go on. We learn about Miss Dent, obviously a furious leady holing a gun and threatening a man for some reason. But who is this man? What did this man do to her that made her so mad? Obviously she knew the man, because she asked him many questions about a girl and what had happened. But could this man have been something close to her or close to a friend of hers? Because she seemed extremely mad. She wanted to teach him a lesson. She wanted to teach him a life long lesson about how to treat people’s feelings. She was violent. She wanted him to suffer. There were other different characters. There was the shoeless man on a hurry to catch a Train, and the Italian woman. But why are these people being talked about? I don’t understand this story. I don’t understand the point of it. We have a Train Station and a Train, so what is next? What happens? This story was meaningless to me.
An Important Call (Cathedral)
Where I'm Calling From
Where are you calling from? You’re calling from a rehab, because you are an alcoholic. What more is there to do when you have to be in rehab? You can’t do your daily drinking, or going out to bars. So its best if you just find a partner to talk to. The narrator is in his second visit at rehab. He finds a buddy. He has J.P. J.P tells his story. All alcoholics’ stories are very sad. I don’t understand why J.P would ruin his life by drinking so much. For him, it all started out with beers leading to getting wasted and aggressive. In these Short stories by Carver all of our main characters are married. But is it true marriage? J.P falls in love with a Chimney Sweeper. He joins her family business, has everything he wants and needs. A wife, children, a house, and a job. But he seems to throw it all away by becoming an alcoholic. Why do people do that? If your life seems almost complete, why do you have to ruin it by throwing it all away?
“But I didn’t know if the could help me or not. Part of me wanted help. But there was another part.”(p.138) to be a recovering addict the person must want to change. An addict needs help and should ask for help. But I think there is always going to be a part of vey addict who ahs there seconds thoughts of just not asking for help and not changing. I feel bad for the narrator it seems as if he doesn’t know what he wants. He doesn’t know how to resolve his problems. He wants to call his wife; he wants to tell her where he is. But than at moment he wants to call his girlfriend who is also a drunk and who drove him to rehab drunk. But what is the point of calling the bad influence girlfriend? He should call his wife, tell her where he is. Maybe she might want to help and be there supporting him. Maybe what he needs is good support. He listens to J.P tell his stories trying to see how he can solve or fix his own problems. I can tell that he wants to call. He plans it.
Once again the story ends just like the other ones, with not a real ending. It keeps us wondering did he ever call his wife. I really hope he did. It would be good for him. The worst thing that could happen would be her hanging up, but she already shut him out of her life once. I don’t think it would be a change or shocking for him.
Where are you calling from? You’re calling from a rehab, because you are an alcoholic. What more is there to do when you have to be in rehab? You can’t do your daily drinking, or going out to bars. So its best if you just find a partner to talk to. The narrator is in his second visit at rehab. He finds a buddy. He has J.P. J.P tells his story. All alcoholics’ stories are very sad. I don’t understand why J.P would ruin his life by drinking so much. For him, it all started out with beers leading to getting wasted and aggressive. In these Short stories by Carver all of our main characters are married. But is it true marriage? J.P falls in love with a Chimney Sweeper. He joins her family business, has everything he wants and needs. A wife, children, a house, and a job. But he seems to throw it all away by becoming an alcoholic. Why do people do that? If your life seems almost complete, why do you have to ruin it by throwing it all away?
“But I didn’t know if the could help me or not. Part of me wanted help. But there was another part.”(p.138) to be a recovering addict the person must want to change. An addict needs help and should ask for help. But I think there is always going to be a part of vey addict who ahs there seconds thoughts of just not asking for help and not changing. I feel bad for the narrator it seems as if he doesn’t know what he wants. He doesn’t know how to resolve his problems. He wants to call his wife; he wants to tell her where he is. But than at moment he wants to call his girlfriend who is also a drunk and who drove him to rehab drunk. But what is the point of calling the bad influence girlfriend? He should call his wife, tell her where he is. Maybe she might want to help and be there supporting him. Maybe what he needs is good support. He listens to J.P tell his stories trying to see how he can solve or fix his own problems. I can tell that he wants to call. He plans it.
Once again the story ends just like the other ones, with not a real ending. It keeps us wondering did he ever call his wife. I really hope he did. It would be good for him. The worst thing that could happen would be her hanging up, but she already shut him out of her life once. I don’t think it would be a change or shocking for him.
Carefully Popping An Ear And A Bottle Of Champagne (Cathedral)
Careful
Lloyd is a very careless person who lives his life carelessly. Lloyd reminds me a lot of Mersault. They just don’t care. The story starts out with Lloyd and Inez separating. Did Inez want this separation for having such a careless husband? I noticed that Lloyd with any problem he had, he just had no way to face his problem. He did not know how to face life. Maybe he was scared of solving problems and changing his life. Just the perfect example would be his ear problem. His ear is plugged, he has trouble hearing, and he doesn’t care for this. It’s his health his hearing. He just tries to pop his ear always just the way he is always popping open his champagne bottle. Just by popping and trying to unplug his ears he thinks he is going to fix his problem. “He couldn’t hear anything clearly, and he seemed to have lost his sense of balance, his equilibrium, in the process.” (p.113). Lloyd lived a very unstable life. I couldn’t imagine knowing someone who just watches TV and drinks cheap champagne all day. And not to forget always trying to get his ear to hear. What a life! I don’t like Lloyd I think he is useless. When Inez goes to visit him he does have trouble hearing some stuff that she says, but he is basically at the point that he only hears what he wants to hear. She should just stay away from him and be happy that she got rid of him.
At the end the only thing popping was his champagne bottle, because hes ear went bak to being unplugged again. He could hear again, so he did not have anymore problems to deal with. He could go back to hi boring useless life of drinking and watching TV. The only thing worrying him, being that his ears can get plugged again. I understand the title being “Careful” with the story, because Lloyd has to do many things carefully. He has to be careful getting out of bed, because his roof is so low. He has to be careful with his ear problem.
I have noticed now that Carver writes a lot about life. He writes about honest everyday situations. He seems to like to write about Alcoholics and amusing moments, but with a story or ending that goes nowhere.
Lloyd is a very careless person who lives his life carelessly. Lloyd reminds me a lot of Mersault. They just don’t care. The story starts out with Lloyd and Inez separating. Did Inez want this separation for having such a careless husband? I noticed that Lloyd with any problem he had, he just had no way to face his problem. He did not know how to face life. Maybe he was scared of solving problems and changing his life. Just the perfect example would be his ear problem. His ear is plugged, he has trouble hearing, and he doesn’t care for this. It’s his health his hearing. He just tries to pop his ear always just the way he is always popping open his champagne bottle. Just by popping and trying to unplug his ears he thinks he is going to fix his problem. “He couldn’t hear anything clearly, and he seemed to have lost his sense of balance, his equilibrium, in the process.” (p.113). Lloyd lived a very unstable life. I couldn’t imagine knowing someone who just watches TV and drinks cheap champagne all day. And not to forget always trying to get his ear to hear. What a life! I don’t like Lloyd I think he is useless. When Inez goes to visit him he does have trouble hearing some stuff that she says, but he is basically at the point that he only hears what he wants to hear. She should just stay away from him and be happy that she got rid of him.
At the end the only thing popping was his champagne bottle, because hes ear went bak to being unplugged again. He could hear again, so he did not have anymore problems to deal with. He could go back to hi boring useless life of drinking and watching TV. The only thing worrying him, being that his ears can get plugged again. I understand the title being “Careful” with the story, because Lloyd has to do many things carefully. He has to be careful getting out of bed, because his roof is so low. He has to be careful with his ear problem.
I have noticed now that Carver writes a lot about life. He writes about honest everyday situations. He seems to like to write about Alcoholics and amusing moments, but with a story or ending that goes nowhere.
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