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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 did the narrator’s wife’s first husband do when he found her after her overdose?
(a) He started to cry
(b) He kicked the door
(c) He said a prayer
(d) He called an ambulance

2. In his attempt to describe cathedrals, the narrator tells the blind man that they are built out of stone and sometimes out of what?
(a) Slate
(b) Marble
(c) Granite
(d) Sandstone

3. In what city did the blind man’s wife die?
(a) Sacramento
(b) San Antonio
(c) Springfield
(d) Seattle

4. Where was Raymond Carver born?
(a) Jackson, Wyoming
(b) Mountain Home, Idaho
(c) Clatskanie, Oregon
(d) Yakima, Washington

5. Where did Raymond Carver earn his Bachelor of Arts degree?
(a) University of Nevada, Reno
(b) Oregon State University
(c) Evergreen State University
(d) Humboldt State College

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the blind man instruct the narrator to do after he’s almost completed the drawing of the cathedral?

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

3. When the television show about the Church pans across the countryside, the narrator describes men walking behind what?

4. The narrator’s wife commented to the blind man through their first correspondence that she loved her husband but she didn’t love what?

5. What does the narrator say causes him problems sleeping?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

6. What takes place in the story as it builds to its climax?

7. What are the narrator’s first impressions of Robert after his arrival? How is Robert dressed?

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

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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