Short Story Reflection

A short story is comprised of several different aspects in order to be able to consider itself a short story.  The story should have a strong introduction that introduces at least setting, characters, or even a conflict. A short story should also be short and should never be longer than a novel. The short story Cathedral by Raymond Carver is successful at portraying some of these aspects. However what is strange about this particular short story is that Carver never provides names for his two main characters, which are the narrator of the story and the narrator's wife. This concept certainly adds uniqueness to the way in which the plot builds up throughout the story. As a result of this the character's conflict is presented more dramatically than how it would be presented if the names of these characters where given. In the story the conflict in which the character's face is a dramatic one, the blind. Carver is successful at making his story more dramatic by using this specific concept. Carver is able to describe his characters in a different way by using different aspects that comprise a short story mainly conflict and use of description. By presenting this conflict Carver is able to reveal more about the characters rather than just stating a simple name.