Raymond Carver with “Cathedral” and John Updike with “A&P” “Cathedral” and A&P, two short stories written in the same century. But even though they both feature stereotypical characters who change their worldview in one way or another, there are many other different sides to them. The stories differ in atmosphere and the number of people involved in each story. The story “Cathedral” took place only in a family house with only the husband, the wife who can be described as a static character attempted suicide in the past, and finally the blind man. Unlike the short story "A&P", the event took place in a grocery store with Sammy, the three girls and finally the manager who is also a static character, nothing special with him, just the typical manager "man" . The short story "Cathedral" has as its protagonist a married man who has difficulty connecting with people and even with his wife, and he seems to have problems, perhaps a little jealous of the connection his wife is able to make. establish with other people. "A&P" is about Sammy, an eighteen-year-old boy who works in a grocery store and hates his job. The two stories do not express the same stereotypical values, the husband in "Cathedral" is stereotyped against the blind, and he seems to have decided how all blind people are, so in the short story "Cathedral", the blinds represent the stereotype. In “A&P”, for Sammy it is the young girls. The catalytic change in both stories is unexpected and a disruption to the characters' daily routine. When the girls in swimsuits came into the store, Sammy was really surprised by the dress code or the careless behavior of the girls: "You know, it's one thing to have a girl in a swimsuit on the beach . . . but not......middle of paper......especially because there isn't really a dress code for going to the grocery store. This analysis will compare and contrast Sammy's and her husband's epiphanies in "A&P" and "Cathedral" respectively. At one point Sammy decided to stand up for girls, maybe he felt some sort of attraction towards girls so he wanted to do something meaningful to maybe get girls' attention. He stood up for the girls and quit his job. Only then does the change in his life occur when he realizes that from now on things are going to be truly different. Works Cited Hendrickson, Joel William. http://www.lonestar.edu/13775.htm. nd Document. March 16, 2014. John Updike 14. A&P, Backpacking Literature Edition. California: XJ Kennedy, Dana Gioia edited, 2012. Raymond Carver 77. Cathedral, backpack literature edited. California: XJ> Kennedy, Dana Giona edited, 2012.