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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 does the narrator describe as “little statues carved to look like monsters”?
(a) Vampires
(b) Phantoms
(c) Gargoyles
(d) Trolls

2. The blind man comments to the narrator as he draw the cathedral, “What’s a cathedral without” what?
(a) People
(b) Priests
(c) Prayers
(d) Pews

3. How old does the narrator describe the blind man as being?
(a) In his early fifties
(b) In his early twenties
(c) In his late thirties
(d) In his late forties

4. The narrator says that after the death of the blind man’s wife, he was left with half of what kind of coin?
(a) A ten-dollar New Zealand coin
(b) A fifty-dinar Algerian coin
(c) A fifty-rupee Indian coin
(d) A twenty-peso Mexican coin

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What was the narrator’s response when the blind man asks if he likes his work?

2. The narrator feels pity for the blind man when he considers that he lived with and loved his wife without ever having what?

3. What does the narrator admit he does not believe in when discussing matters with the blind man late at night in the story?

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

5. How does the narrator describe the blind man’s facial hair?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What drives the narrative plot of “Cathedral”? What effect does this have on the plot’s structure?

3. Why does the narrator say the blind man is coming to visit in the beginning of the story?

4. Why does the narrator apologize to Robert during their discussion after his wife’s fallen asleep?

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

6. What is “minimalist fiction” and how does it apply to “Cathedral”?

7. How did the narrator’s wife come to know the blind man? How is this information revealed in the story?

8. Where in “Cathedral” does the climax of the narrative take place?

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

10. How does the narrator’s wife suggest the narrator act toward Robert when he visits?

(see the answer keys)

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