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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. How long does the narrator say he’s been in his current position (of employment) when asked by the blind man?
(a) 8 months
(b) 2 years
(c) 3 years
(d) 1 year

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

3. Where does the blind man put his hand as the narrator begins to draw in the story?
(a) Over the narrator’s hand
(b) At the edge of the table
(c) On the paper
(d) On the narrator’s face

4. After showing a cathedral in Portugal, the television show next travels to show a cathedral where?
(a) Poland
(b) Romania
(c) Germany
(d) France

5. Where does the narrator’s wife fall asleep after they’ve smoked marijuana?
(a) In the chair
(b) On the couch
(c) In the bathtub
(d) On the floor

Short Answer Questions

1. From what narrative perspective is the story of “Cathedral” relayed?

2. How does the narrator’s wife look at him when he turns on the television during the talk with the blind man after dinner?

3. For how many years were the blind man and his wife married before her health went rapidly in decline?

4. How is the narrator’s viewpoint of blind people characterized in the beginning of the story?

5. Where does the narrator tell the blind man the show about cathedrals has traveled to, where there are “paintings on the walls of this one church”?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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. What is signified by the narrator’s final lines in the story?

6. How does the narrator’s wife describe Robert’s marriage prior to his arrival in the story?

7. What is Robert’s response when the narrator offers him marijuana after dinner? What is his experience with the drug?

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

9. How are the narrator’s perceptions of race illustrated in “Cathedral”?

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

(see the answer keys)

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