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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What kind of paper does the blind man ask the narrator to go get when they are talking late at night?
(a) Wax paper
(b) Heavy paper
(c) Typewriter paper
(d) Tissue paper

2. When was Raymond Carver’s short story collection Will You Please Be Quiet, Please? Published?
(a) 1985
(b) 1976
(c) 1980
(d) 1969

3. What was the last part of the blind man’s tape that the narrator heard when his wife played it for him?
(a) I can picture the type
(b) You can certainly do better
(c) From all you’ve said about him, I can only conclude—
(d) He sounds like a great man

4. What color is all of the blind man’s attire when he arrives?
(a) Brown
(b) White
(c) Black
(d) Blue

5. What does the narrator give as a response to the narrator’s question of whether he was going to stay with his work?
(a) I haven’t had any other offers
(b) What were the options?
(c) It pays the bills
(d) It would be hard to take a pay cut

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the blind man’s name in the story?

2. What does the narrator say about his and his wife’s sleeping patterns in the story?

3. When does the narrator say his wife was to marry her fiancé when she worked for the blind man?

4. At what point in the story does the protagonist reach his major epiphany?

5. How long does the narrator say he’s been in his current position (of employment) when asked by the blind man?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is the theme of transformation illustrated through the narrator’s wife in the story? When did her “transformation” take place with the blind man?

2. What happened to the narrator’s wife during the years that she did not see the blind man? How did she maintain contact with Robert?

3. What activity does the blind man suggest to the narrator during their discussion about cathedrals?

4. What is signified by the narrator’s final lines in the story?

5. How does the narrator’s wife respond when he turns on the television? What conversation ensues?

6. What are the narrator’s thoughts after his wife falls asleep, leaving him alone with Robert?

7. How does the narrator feel about the blind man’s visit in the beginning of the story? What are his impressions of “the blind”?

8. How does the narrator describe Robert’s arrival in the story?

9. How does the narrator describe the scene once his wife has gone upstairs after dinner?

10. How does the narrator’s wife respond to the marijuana downstairs when she returns?

(see the answer keys)

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