1.
Raymond Carver- was an American short-storywriter and poet. Carver contributed to the revitalization of the American short story in literature during the 1980s. Carver was born in Clatskanie, Oregon, a mill town on the Columbia River, and grew up in Yakima,Washington.
'' Cathedral''- is a short story written by American writer and poet Raymond Carver. It was the first story written after finishing What We Talk About When We Talk About Love. The short story "Cathedral" was included in Best American Short Stories, 1982. It is the final story in Carver's collection Cathedral (1983). With its publication Carver finally received the critical praise he had longed for. "Cathedral" is generally considered to be one of Carver's finest works displaying both his expertise in crafting a minimalist story and also writing about a catharsis with such simple story lines.
Note- character
The narrator: describes his experience with Robert. (unnamed)
Robert: the blind man, he encourage the narrator to draw a cathedral when the narrator is unable to describe one in words.
The narrator wife: invites Robert to their home, keeps in touch with Robert for ten years.
2.
flat character & round character
à two basic types of characters, their qualities, functions and importance for the development of the novel.
flat characters- are two dimensional, they are relatively uncomplicated.
round characters- are complex figures with many different characteristic and undergo development, sometimes sufficiently to surprise the reader.
3.
Freytag's Pyramid (Dramatic Structure)
4.
Term Explanation and Vocabulary
(1) hypothesis- is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon.
For a hypothesis to be a scientific hypothesis, the scientific method requires that one can test it. Scientists generally base scientific hypotheses on previous observations that cannot satisfactorily be explained with the available scientific theories. Even though the words "hypothesis" and "theory" are often used synonymously, a scientific hypothesis is not the same as a scientific theory. A working hypothesis is a provisionally accepted hypothesis proposed for further research.
(2) heroine- female character.
(3) foreshadowing- is a literary device by which an author hints what is to come. Foreshadowing is a dramatic device in which an important plot-point is mentioned early in the story and will return in a more significant way. It is used to avoid disappointment. It is also sometimes used to arouse the reader.
(4) flashback- is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point in the story. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story's primary sequence of events to fill in crucial back story. In the opposite direction, a flash forward reveals events that will occur in the future. Both flashback and flash forward are used to cohere a story, develop a character, or add structure to the narrative.
(5) ver, vir- true
Virgil- was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He is known for three major works of Latin literature, the Eclogues , the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid. Virgil is traditionally ranked as one of Rome's greatest poets. His Aeneid has been considered the national epic of ancient Rome from the time of its composition to the present day. Modeled after Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, the Aeneid follows the Trojan refugee Aeneas as he struggles to fulfill his destiny and arrive on the shores of Italy—in Roman mythology the founding act of Rome. Virgil's work has had wide and deep influence on Western literature, most notably Dante's Divine Comedy, in which Virgil appears as Dante's guide through hell and purgatory.
verification- establishment of the correctness of a theory, fact or evidence that provides proof of an assertion, theory, etc.
Veritas- In Roman mythology, Veritas, meaning truth, was the goddess of truth.
It was believed that she hid in the bottom of a holy well because she was so elusive. Her image is shown as a young virgin dressed in white. This Latin word "veritas"
now appears in the mottos of many colleges and universities. Veritas is the motto of Harvard University.
verisimilitude- is a philosophical concept that distinguishes between the relative and apparent (or seemingly so) truth and falsity of assertions and hypotheses. The problem of verisimilitude is the problem of articulating what it takes for one false theory to be closer to the truth than another false theory.
reach the verdict- In law, a verdict is the formal finding of fact made by a jury on matters or questions submitted to the jury by a judge. (陪審團)
(6) dic-to say, to tell, word
predict(v.)-to state, tell about, or make known in advance, especially on the basis of
special knowledge.
dictionary(n.)
(7)
anti- against
pro- in favor of
antagonist- is a group of characters, institution, or concept that stands in or represents opposition against which the protagonist(s) must contend.
protagonist- is the leading actor or the principle character in a story whose fate is most closely followed by the reader or audience.
(8)
pay the compliment(讚美)
pay the respect (弔唁)
5.
Ode on a Grecian Urn
O Attic shape! Fair attitude! with brede
Of marble men and maidens overwrought,
With forest branches and the trodden weed;
Thou, silent form, dost tease us out of thought
As doth eternity: Cold Pastoral!
When old age shall this generation waste,
Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe
Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say'st,
"Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know."
