In "Cathedral," Carver utilizes a less dramatic setting to convey a message to us. In this story, the narrator is uneasy about Robert's visit and does not know how to behave when they first meet. It is only through a conversation about cathedrals that allows the narrator to discover something about Robert and himself. The setting is significant because this is the place where the narrator and Robert meet and where the narrator has his epiphany.

The mood of the home changes from negative to positive.

Sight becomes significant in the story as well because that is what the entire story revolves around and that is what ultimately brings the two men closer. Because the narrator attempts to help Robert understand, he, too, discovers something about himself...

Here we see that some of the coolest things in life cannot be predicted.
Good Man is Hard to Find" and "Cathedral" are two stories that allow us to reach an understanding through setting. Each story has a point to prove about personalities - if we allow ourselves, we can always learn something from someone. The grandmother had to learn that she was not as high and mighty as she thought she was and that she and the Misfit had more in common they should like to believe. The narrator in "Cathedral" learns that he can benefit from a blind man. We too, can always learn.

Works Cited

Carver, Raymond. "Cathedral." Cathedral. New York: Vintage Contemporaries. 1983.

O'Connor, Flannery. "A Good Man is Hard to Find." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia, eds. New York: Longman. 1999. pp. 352-363.