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

2. What does the blind man remark about the narrator’s television set, saying, “Don’t ask me how, but I can tell”?
(a) That it is an old television set
(b) That it is a color television set
(c) That it is a small television set
(d) That the sound seems rough

3. What is the blind man’s name in the story?
(a) Jacob
(b) Robert
(c) William
(d) Marcus

4. What instruction does the blind man give to the narrator as he draws the cathedral in the story?
(a) Fill in all the details
(b) Lightly now
(c) Press hard
(d) Draw slowly

5. In what year was the anthology entitled Cathedral published?
(a) 1983
(b) 1947
(c) 1962
(d) 1974

Short Answer Questions

1. Along what river does the narrator describe the train going on the route from his home to New York?

2. The narrator says, “I remembered having read somewhere that the blind didn’t smoke because, as speculation had it, they couldn’t” what?

3. What does the narrator tell the blind man regarding the strength of the marijuana they are smoking?

4. What color are the narrator’s wife’s robe and slippers?

5. Where does the narrator spread out the pen and paper when he returns with it in the story?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are the narrator’s perceptions of Robert’s marriage as his wife describes it in the beginning of the story?

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

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

4. What is the narrator’s prayer before dinner? How is the dinner described by the narrator?

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

6. Where in the story do you see the first elements of transformation in the protagonist?

7. What does the narrator offer to Robert after his wife passes out? How does Robert respond?

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

9. From what narrative perspective is the story told? How does this narrative style affect the reader?

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

(see the answer keys)

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