View a FREE sample

This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Cathedral.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What are the central motifs in “Cathedral”?
(a) Strawberries and fruit
(b) Vision and blindness
(c) Blood and music
(d) Marriage and weddings

2. What Irish actor does the blind man quote in saying “When I drink water, I drink water. When I drink whiskey, I drink whiskey”?
(a) Barry Fitzgerald
(b) Peter O’Toole
(c) Stuart Townsend
(d) Brendan Gleeson

3. How is the narrator’s viewpoint of blind people characterized in the beginning of the story?
(a) He is an advocate for them
(b) He is empathetic with them
(c) He is assimilated with them
(d) He is prejudiced against them

4. How long ago does the narrator say his wife offered to let him listen to a tape from the blind man in the beginning of the story?
(a) 1 year ago
(b) 3 years ago
(c) 6 months ago
(d) 2 months ago

5. What does the narrator say about his and his wife’s sleeping patterns in the story?
(a) She is always the first to bed
(b) I am always the first to bed
(c) We always go to bed at the same time
(d) My wife and I hardly ever went to bed at the same time

Short Answer Questions

1. From what narrative perspective is the story of “Cathedral” relayed?

2. Why does the narrator’s wife say she shouldn’t be smoking this when she is passed the joint in the story?

3. What happens to the television show as the narrator works on his drawing of a cathedral in the story?

4. When the blind man appears to snooze during his conversation with the narrator, the narrator assumes that perhaps he’s imagining himself where?

5. “Cathedral” is a short story that is driven by what literary element?

(see the answer key)

This section contains 333 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample