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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the one adjective the author uses to describe Van Brunt?

2. What is one thing Brom Bones does to Ichabod to try to get him to stop seeking Katrina's hand in marriage?

3. What is one force greater than the Devil that was to be feared?

4. What is one thing Ichabod helps the farmers do?

5. Which story dominates the conversation between the men the night of the Van Tassel feast?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is unusual about how the characters are introduced in this story versus other short stories and is it effective?

2. How does finding the papers amongst a dead man establish tone?

3. What is the purpose of describing Tarry Town before actually talking about Sleepy Hollow where the story takes place?

4. Why did the church provide a perfect setting for the Headless Horseman stories?

5. Why is it ironic that Ichabod's horse is named Gunpowder?

6. How does the storyteller use similes to describe the school and Ichabod's students?

7. What does it say about the residents of Sleepy Hollow that since Ichabod did not have "money nor family," that he was quickly forgotten?

8. What is one characterization of Ichabod?

9. What is the irony of stories being told about Ichabod haunting Sleepy Hollow?

10. What is the significance of Ichabod's voracious appetite throughout the story?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does the author set the story up so that the reader believes anything can happen? How does he toy with the reader? What phrases and word choices does he use to convey the mystic of the story?

Essay Topic 2

The author's descriptions of Ichabod Crane, even the usage of his surname, conjures the images of a bird. Why does the author want the reader to see Ichabod as birdlike? Is it because he is flighty? Or does his gossiping with the women in town one of "cawing" like a raven? Describe why and how the author continues to connect Ichabod to a bird and what purpose the author does this.

Essay Topic 3

What is the significance of a birch tree growing near the school house cabin and why is it ironic? The narrator refers to Ichabod's use of discipline and his type of discipline often allowed the weak to escape but the strong were severely punished.

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