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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. Regarding the view from the train, the narrator says, “going to New York, you should sit” where on the train?
(a) On the right side
(b) In the front
(c) On the left side
(d) In the back

2. What are the supports called on a cathedral that are built to steady a structure by opposing its outward thrusts?
(a) Pillars
(b) Trusses
(c) Crossbeams
(d) Buttresses

3. What does the narrator say his wife writes one or two of every year?
(a) Novels
(b) Poems
(c) Short stories
(d) Essays

4. What does the narrator say causes him problems sleeping?
(a) Dreams
(b) A sore throat
(c) A bad smell
(d) His wife’s snoring

5. What question does the blind man ask the narrator as the narrator begins drawing the cathedral in the story?
(a) Where’s your wife when you need her, huh, bub?
(b) What kind of building are you drawing here, bub?
(c) Where are you going to put the steeple and the people, bub?
(d) Never thought anything like this could happen in your lifetime, did you, bub?

Short Answer Questions

1. In what year was “Cathedral” chosen to appear in The Best American Short Stories?

2. After hearing her name, the narrator asks his wife what question?

3. By what familyar nickname does the blind man call the narrator?

4. What Irish actor does the blind man quote in saying “When I drink water, I drink water. When I drink whiskey, I drink whiskey”?

5. When was Raymond Carver’s short story collection Will You Please Be Quiet, Please? Published?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the blind man suggest when he feels the drawing is complete? How does the narrator respond?

2. What do the narrator and Robert say in their discussion of religion in the story?

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

4. What is the central imagery employed in the story? How is it employed?

5. How is the theme of creativity illustrated through the protagonist in the beginning of “Cathedral”?

6. What role does alcoholism play in “Cathedral”?

7. How many drinks do the narrator, his wife, and Robert have before dinner? What do they discuss?

8. What does the narrator ask Robert regarding cathedrals in the story? Why? How does Robert respond?

9. How does the narrator describe his wife’s last in-person meeting with the blind man?

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

(see the answer keys)

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