"The Cathedral" by Raymond Carver is full of both imagery and symbolism.

Contrasting Imagery with Symbolism The story The Cathedral by Raymond Carver is a story of transformation of a human character's life from depression and carelessness to belief and diversity. A cathedral is a symbol of faith, conversion, creativity and strength and is therefore a substantial component of Carver's story. The process of drawing it becomes the climax of the story when the author uses intense imagery to describe the workings of the drawing that the …

…to breath life into the symbolism of the images that are created. The small amount of imagery that is used is very significant in that the imagery that is used, brings across very strong and clear pictures of meaning and thought. The symbolism that is in this story is enormous. It can be found everywhere. It is used in contrast with imagery to give greater meaning to the story that otherwise wouldn't have been clear.