The Cathedral :: essays papers

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 â€Å"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, â€Å"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.