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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 is playing on the television as the narrator’s wife exits upstairs in the story?
(a) A late-night comedy show
(b) A game show
(c) Entertainment news
(d) The weather report

2. The man that the narrator’s wife was going to marry when she worked for the blind man was in what kind of school?
(a) Construction school
(b) Electrician school
(c) Truck driving school
(d) Officers’ training school

3. According to the narrator, the train ride from the blind man’s in-laws’ home to the narrator’s home takes how long?
(a) 9 hours
(b) 12 hours
(c) 5 hours
(d) 2 hours

4. Where did the narrator’s wife fall asleep after overdosing on pills while at Travis A.F.B.?
(a) In the bathtub
(b) On the patio
(c) In the garage
(d) In the basement

5. What are the first words that the blind man says to the narrator when he arrives?
(a) I can’t wait to get to know you
(b) I believe we have a lot in common
(c) So you’re the husband
(d) I feel like we’ve already met

Short Answer Questions

1. Where in Portugal does the television show feature a cathedral?

2. How does the narrator feel about the blind man’s visit in the beginning of the story?

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

4. When the narrator changes the television channel, he says there is something about the Church and what era on?

5. What does the narrator suggest to his wife he could do when the blind man comes to visit, causing her exasperation?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is the theme of creativity manifested through the protagonist at the end of the story?

2. What does the reader learn about the narrator when he and his wife discuss their friends prior to the blind man’s arrival?

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

4. 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?

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

6. What does the narrator discuss with Robert after his arrival in the story?

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

8. What prompts the narrator to begin speaking during the television show?

9. How is the theme of alienation illustrated through the protagonist in the story?

10. What is signified by the narrator’s choice to keep his eyes closed at the end of the story?

(see the answer keys)

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