Raymond Carver says, “I think a little menace is fine to have in a story.”. Based on his short story “Cathedral”, I think he firmly believes this. For one thing the main character (the narrator), plays a sort of antagonistic role at the beginning of the piece. He voices the thoughts that several people are afraid to say about the blind. His reaction to Robert coming to stay at his home is what some people think but would never say aloud. So i think the menace is definitely the narrator.
Carver also says “There has to be tension, a sense that something is imminent, that certain things are in relentless motion, or else, most often, there simply won’t be a story.” I completely agree with this statement. A story is not a great one if there is no climax of events occurring. In “Cathedral”, the moment of tension is when Robert makes the husband draw the cathedral while having his hand over the husband’s hand while he’s drawing. This very moment is the turning point. It’s the time when the husband stops being so closed-minded and actually steps outside his element to experience a sensation he has never felt before.
