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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Cathedral.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How did the narrator’s wife maintain contact with the blind man since they last saw one another in person?
(a) They wrote emails to each other
(b) They wrote letters to each other
(c) They communicated by fax machine
(d) They mailed tapes to each other

2. At what point in the story does the protagonist reach his major epiphany?
(a) After dinner
(b) When he closes his eyes
(c) When his wife arrives home
(d) When he turns on the TV

3. What are the central motifs in “Cathedral”?
(a) Marriage and weddings
(b) Blood and music
(c) Vision and blindness
(d) Strawberries and fruit

4. Where did the other half of the coin go that the blind man was left with, according to the narrator?
(a) In a safe deposit box
(b) In his wallet
(c) In his wife’s coffin
(d) In a frame on the wall

5. What is the blind man’s answer when the narrator’s wife asks if he has a TV?
(a) My dear, I have two TVs
(b) They annoy me
(c) I have never seen a TV in my life
(d) I prefer the radio

Short Answer Questions

1. In what year was “Cathedral” chosen to appear in The Best American Short Stories?

2. By what familyar nickname does the blind man call the narrator?

3. Where is McConnell A.F.B. located?

4. What does the blind man ask the narrator about the paintings on the walls of the church in the television show?

5. What does the narrator’s wife say she is going to do upstairs as she exits, leaving the narrator and the blind man alone after dinner?

(see the answer key)

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