ELA 20-1

Raymond Carver's “Cathedral”

Discussion Questions

Now that you have completed your annotation task and have a deep understanding of the
short story, Cathedral, it is time to see how well you can connect evidence from the story to
your ideas. You must complete 10 questions from the following selection, 7 of which you
can answer using jot notes format; for 3 of the questions you choose to answer, you must use a
well-structured MEAL paragraph format. Which of your 10 responses are jot notes and which
are full paragraphs is completely up to you.

Part A- Ideas about Themes: (choose 3 from the following)

1. What does Robert “see” over the course of the evening?

2. In what ways is this story about “seeing” and/or learning?
3. Discuss “Cathedral” as a story about “the blind leading the blind.”
4. In what ways is this story about communication and connectedness? (Think about the
poems, the tapes, the ham radio, etc.)
5. For Carver, salvation lies in human contact and connection.  Comment critically.

Part B- Smaller Issues: (choose 4 from the following)

6. What is important about the two flashbacks (the ones about the narrator's wife's past
and Robert's past)?
7. Discuss the nickname “Bub.”
8. Why such a “feeding frenzy” at dinner?
9. Why the repeated references to Robert lifting his beard?
10. How does alcohol and marijuana play a role in the story?
11. Why is it important that the setting is the narrator’s house?
12. What is important about the references to the narrator's wife's poems and tapes?

Part C- Bigger Issues: (choose 3 from the following)

13. Is the narrator a sympathetic protagonist? Does our opinion of him change as the story
progresses? Does the narrator develop or change or "grow" over the course of the
evening?
14. What are the primary emotions displayed by the narrator throughout, and how can we
understand them in terms of the life he leads? What are some adjectives you would use
to characterize him? What role does alcohol play in his life?
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15. What is the narrator’s attitude toward his wife? Describe the narrator’s marriage. What
kind of marriage do they have, and what evidence do you find to support your
conclusion? Is the narrator’s jealousy of Robert irrational?
16. What is it about Robert that unsettles the narrator? What does Robert do to put the
narrator at ease?
17. How does Robert shatter the narrator’s preconceived notions of blind people? How do
his appearance and bearing resist every stereotypical image the narrator has about
blind people, and why is this so upsetting?
18. What does the narrator learn from his encounter with Robert? Is the ending convincing?
Do you believe that there will be a significant change in his outlook from this point on?
19. Contrast the author’s tone and the narrator’s mood at the opening of the story with the
tone and mood at the end. How does the change in style reflect the change that has
occurred in the narrator?
20. How or why is the cathedral an important image or symbol in the story? What is the
significance of Carver’s choice of a cathedral as catalyst for the narrator’s learning
experience? What added dimension does this symbol bring to our understanding of the
story? Can you tie it to any previous detail?
21. Describe Carver’s style.

Extension/optional- Responding Creatively:

22. Create a conversation between the narrator and his wife after Robert’s departure.
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