“Cathedral”, a short story by Raymond Carver shows how a visit from a blind man affects the life of a married couple. The three main characters are the husband who is the narrator, the wife and Robert. The husband is a closed-minded and cynical man who is upset because Robert stays in his house because he does not know how to treat a blind man. The wife is a kind woman who has a closer relationship with Roberts than with her husband. Robert is a blind man who has just lost his wife and who lives with his friend and her husband. In "Cathedral", Raymond Carver uses symbolism to show the weakness and strength of humans. One of the symbols that the author uses in "Cathedral" is drinking, which shows how humans use drinking as a form of escape from their problems, but at the same time, drinking helps the narrator to have the more open mind. In the story, drinking is present several times, when the wife attempted suicide, when the husband waits for his wife and blinds her, when the husband meets Robert, and when the husband, wife and Robert eat and when they watch television. According to Caldwell Tracy, "the narrator's state of discontent seems exacerbated by his turn to alcohol and drugs, which he uses both for comfort during Robert's visit and as a strategy for coping with his frequent nightmares. » Drinking in the story can be seen as a way of escaping reality because we know that the husband is alone and alcohol is a way of forgetting that. “I made the drinks, three large glasses of scotch with a little water in each. Then we got comfortable and talked about Robert's travels" (436), this quote shows how drinking in the story was the form in which the husband and Robert socialized and...... middle of paper......at uses symbolism to show how a person's weakness can become a strength. The symbols being the drink which represents a form of flight and lowering of guard, Robert's blindness which represents that a weakness can become a strength, and the drawing of a cathedral which represents the faith and freedom that the narrator acquired at the end of the story. Works Cited Caldwell, Tracy M. "Cathedral." Literary contexts in short stories: “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver (2006): 1-8. Literary Reference Center Plus. Internet. March 3, 2014. Carver, Raymond. "Cathedral." Kirszner and Mandell 432-442. Delaney, Bill. "Cathedral." Masterplots II: Short story series, revised edition (2004): 1-2. Literary Reference Center Plus. Internet. March 3, 2014. Kirszner, Laurie G. and Stephen R. Mandell., eds. Literature: read, react, write. 8th ed. Boston: Wadsworth Cengage, 2013. Print.