The Cathedral Essay Research Paper The CathedralI

The Cathedral Essay, Research Paper The Cathedral I have had many experiences that changed my outlook towards life. One of them was when I went to London, England. It was called St. Paul?s Cathedral. I had never been to a ?cathedral? before, and I didn?t especially care to go and look at one. But my coach made me, and when we got there I heard a voice in my head yelling, ?You?re going to hate this!? Regardless I was there and without chance to leave, so I figured I might as well try to appreciate it. Boy, am I glad I did because as I stood at the bottom of the enormous concrete steps towards the doors of St. Paul?s Cathedral, I looked up and noticed the resemblance to the capitol building. The dome on top the building looked as if it just kept going all the way to the

heavens. Sitting almost on top of the dome were four statues, each pointing true North, South, East, and West. The statues of the Virgin Mary, made of gold, immediately caught my eye. I couldn?t help noticing their beauty, as I looked upward. The doorway to the cathedral resembled an enormous Indian arrowhead. There were sculptures lining the inner arches of the doorways. Each sculpture was done so intricately it looked as if it was the sculptor?s crowning achievement. On the outer edge were carvings of angels all the way to the top. Each one stacked above the other and all in different poses. Just to the left was the next row of sculptures, this one of people standing one above the other playing instruments. The third row was much like the first, of angels, except every

sculpture was different and each looked frozen in time as if it was waiting for the perfect moment to come back to life. Directly above the doorway was a three level carving. The first, on the bottom, was of common people, all facing towards the center and looking as if they were begging for forgiveness from God. The second level, done on a much larger scale, was of the Disciples of Christ. Dressed in robes and all sitting down in chairs with their scruffy beards looking outward as if they were a council ready to judge me. The third level was of Christ himself. Angels, all praising him and tending to his every need surrounded him. He looked out as if he was speaking to a crowd of people about the ways of God. The images of the Cathedral?s outer walls, as stunning as they were,

looked like rough drafts compared to the detailed masterpieces waiting inside. Once inside the Cathedral I passed the front desk that happened to be taking donations. I, of course, generously donated, fearing that if I did not give every cent I had to my name, God would send a lighting bolt aimed at the top of my head. Once past the front desk I continued on towards the main hall where literally thousands of people were all looking about at the Cathedral. Even with all those people, it was so quiet you could have easily heard someone tying their shoe. There were pillars made of solid marble that extended to the top of the ceiling, seventy-five feet in the air. As I walked around I looked up for whatever reason, I noticed that the dome was visible from the inside. Some famous

painter, DaVinci or Michelangelo or someone of that magnitude painted the inside of the dome. It was so detailed that even the smallest creature in the picture looked ready to jump out and bite me. The picture had columns that separated it into separate parts. There were seven all together. Each of the seven was of St. Paul, and each picture depicted the seven adventures that Paul went on in the Bible. The pictures were so massive that even though they were over a hundred feet above me, I could read them and understand exactly what the pictures meant. It undoubtedly was the greatest work of art I had ever seen next to life itself. I went to the top of the dome to view this ultimate masterpiece at a closer scale. I walked up a hefty flight of stairs to a narrow circular platform