A Comparative Essay of Themes in the Cathedral and Where are You Going, Where have you been?

Authors pervade their ideas through a subject talk in a piece of writing, exhibitions, and literature works. Authors develop characters around their plot, who suit an efficient conveyance of their storyline. Although different authors choose different characters and character traits depending on their ideas, it is common for authors to portray comparative themes using different characters, as exhibited in an analysis of Carver’s Cathedral and Oates’ Where are you going, Where have you been.

Theme of isolation and Separation.

In her story, Carol Oates depicts the theme of isolation. She develops this theme around Connie who’s her main character. The author envisages Connie’s traits as a character who is isolated by her family, and she likes separating herself from her family. Connie is separated as a lazy and promiscuous character, unlike her sister and family members. June, Connie’s sister, is a secretary at her school, saves money, and helps with work at home while Connie does nothing (Oates, 1). Connie is a lonely character that likes spending time with her unchaste finds, and separates herself from her family. Connie declines her families offer to go for a barbecue at an aunt’s and prefers to spend her time at home doing her hair and listening to music (Oates 2). The climax of the theme of separation if pictured in Connie’s encounter with Arnold Friend at her house. The author narrates that Connie is worried that she’ll not see her mother again nor sleep in her bed again (Oates 9).

Similarly, Raymond Carver also explores the theme of isolation and separation in his story, the cathedral. The narrator’s wife establishes a good working relationship with Robert the blind man (Carver 1), but the two are separated when she resigns to get married to her childhood lover (Carver 1-2). The narrator’s wife felt isolated by her first husband, the commissioned officer, and confesses disliking his involvement in the military (Carver 2). The narrator explains his wife’s attempted suicide through her numerous tapes to the blind man. (Carver 2), which prompted her to isolate herself from her commissioned husband. The unbearable pain of being isolated from her new friends whenever her commissioned husband was transferred led to their divorce (Carver 2). The pinnacle of isolation and separation is highlighted when the narrator’s wife explains to him about Robert’s isolation from his wife Beulah, due to separation by death.

Theme of Fantasy and Reality

Oates exhibition of fantasy verses reality is built around Connie. Connie’s mother relates the fantasy of her behavior when she was young and beautiful (Oates 1), to Connie’s present beauty which is far from reality. Connie fantasizes courage and adulthood, and works hard to preserve her hair and maintain an adult’s look (Oates 1). However, her encounter with Arnold Friend proves that she’s still young and fearful (Oates 5-9). Connie dressed as if she’s experienced with men when she spends three hours at a restaurant with Eddie (Oates 2). The reality of Connie’s exposure and experience with men is expressed in her encounter with Arnold Friend at her home (Oates 3-9), who bullies her to give in to his demand of going for a ride (Oates 9), an experience that Connie has not encountered with another man. On the other hand, Arnold Friend is outlined as a blurred character. He comes form the driveway to Connie’s compound like any other normal driver. However, Connie is mesmerized that Arnold knows everyone, even what Connie’s parents were doing, and he mystically stops her from making a call to the police (Oates 8). It is not tacit to ascertain whether Arnold is a fantasy of reality character from Oates’ buildup of his traits.

Consequently, Raymond Carver highlights the theme of fantasy and reality through the narrator. The narrator develops a fantasy of blind people from the movies he has seen. The narrator thought that blind men were slow moving people and never laughed (Carver 1). His fantasy of the blind man set to visit his house was a blind man with a walking stick, black glasses, and someone who never smoked as he had previously read in a certain book. However, reality struck the narrator when Robert, the blind man disapproved his fantasies of a blind person. Robert did not use a walking cane and did not have dark glasses (Carver 5). The narrator explains how Robert smoked a cigarette down to the nubbin and then lit the next (Carver 6), he also accepted the narrator’s offer to smoke cannabis with him (Carver 8). Fantasy and reality are expressed using the Cathedrals to express the fantasy of seeing and the reality of seeing. In Raymond Carver’s plot, the narrator has real eyesight but conforms a fantasy of site when it comes to drawing the Cathedral. On the other hand, Robert who is blind has a reality of sight and guides the narrator to draw the cathedral with his eyes closed (Carver 13).

Although authors select different characters that suit the stories they are conveying, it is likely for them to outline similar themes in their stories using the different characters. This is evident in this comparative essay of isolation and separation, and fantasy and reality in Oates’ and Carver’s stories.

Works Cited.

Carver Raymond, Cathedral. P 1-13. 1981.

Oates J. Carol, Where are you going, where have you been. Pp 1-9. 1966