In both A Small Good Thing and Cathedral Carver clearly shows how important communication is in our lives.

Carver’s choice of dialogue for his characters in “Cathedral” and “A Small Good Thing” is just as important as the communication of emotions. He keeps things simple. The characters do not drone on in long speeches. They tend to give one sentence answers such as “I am comfortable.” (265). Raymond Carver is right in not overdoing his characters speech. Instead of overwhelming the reader with long paragraph dialogue throughout the whole story, he says what needs to be said, and leaves it at that. This says a lot for the characters themselves as well. They are regular people who speak in regular lengths. As a matter of fact, sometimes the characters seem like they don’t even want to exchange words at all, making it so that “There were no pleasantries between them, just the minimum exchange of words, the necessary information.” (270). Another example of this is in “A Small Good Thing” when Scotty is hit by a car. The driver of the car does not get out to say anything. He simply “put the car into gear and drove away.” (271). When there is dialogue between the characters, it can sometimes feel strained, almost awkward. You can feel the awkward tension in “A Small Good Thing” when Ann speaks with the family of Franklin in the waiting room. The father “shifted in the chair. He shook his head. He looked down at the table, and then he looked back at Ann.” (278). He is fidgeting. This is typically seen as a nervous or an awkward gesture. Bub in “Cathedral” is a conversationally awkward character. He never seems to know quite what to say or when to say it. He drinks too much and is unable to communicate properly with his wife. When Bub is sitting with Robert and his wife after dinner, he explains says that “Now and then I joined in. I didn’t want them to think I’d left the room, and I didn’t want her to think I was feeling left out.” (264).

Carver shows the role that communication has in helping us through our problems. When you have a problem between two or more people, communication is essential. In “A Small Good Thing” there is no proper communication between Scotty’s parents and the baker. Instead of explaining himself properly, the baker makes cryptic phone calls saying “It’s about Scotty, yes. It has to do with Scotty, that problem. Have you forgotten about Scotty?” (279). Realizing that these phone calls are from the baker, Ann and her husband go to the bakery at night. Ann’s anger and ability to communicate her emotions to the baker spark a change in him. Furthermore, the baker changes because he has a chance to comfort others by exposing his own suffering, and together they are able to see the hope in each of their situations. They “talked on into the early morning, the high, pale cast of light in the windows, and they did not think of leaving.” (286). In “Cathedral” Bub is completely closed minded to the idea of “a blind man” in his house. He is unable to communicate for the majority of the story. He pretty much sulks while his wife entertains Robert. This changes when Bub and Robert are watching TV together. Simply by having a normal conversation with Robert, Bub has a sort of epiphany and is able to see things in a new light. As Robert helped Bub draw the cathedral, Bub says that “It was like nothing else in my life up to now.” (270). While there is no proof that Bub has changed, there is an indication that there is hope for him. Robert is the only character in “Cathedral” that seems able to form proper human connections.

In both “A Small Good Thing” and “Cathedral” Carver clearly shows how important communication is in our lives. Lack of communication pushes us farther apart, whereas proper communication can bring us together. “A Small Good Thing” shows the healing power that human communication has on us. “Cathedral” ends with hope, and Bub being in communion, for the time being, with another human being for once. Raymond Carver does an excellent job of showing the importance that communication has in all of our lives. From our day to day lives, and even when we find ourselves in a tough situation, proper communication can help us through it.