View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What tradition does Tom say should be revived?
(a) The persecution of other religious sects.
(b) The witch trials.
(c) War with Native tribes.
(d) Public hangings.

2. Why does the devil stay away from Tom for a while after Tom's wife disappears?
(a) The devil has other business to attend to in a nearby town.
(b) The devil is giving Tom time to get over his fear.
(c) The devil knows that Tom is furious.
(d) The devil is trying to create a bargaining advantage.

3. What is the first thing that Tom does in an attempt to escape his bargain with the devil?
(a) He moves to another town.
(b) He becomes an eager church-goer.
(c) He offers the devil a different soul in place of his own.
(d) He tries unsuccessfully to sell his business.

4. To what does the narrator compare the sound of Tom's carriage wheels?
(a) The laughter of the devil.
(b) The creaking of the trees in the swamp.
(c) The souls of his clients.
(d) The clinking of coins.

5. What news does Tom's wife have for him when he returns from the swamp?
(a) A great treasure has been mysteriously left on their step.
(b) Their horse has escaped and they need to replace it.
(c) The governor himself has been to visit them.
(d) Absalom Crowninshield has died.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is William Kidd?

2. What causes Tom to start to worry about the deal he has made with the devil?

3. What does Tom find in the mud of the swamp?

4. What does the narrator say his third attempt to evade the devil shows about Tom?

5. Why does the devil say that he has a right to cut wood on this land?

Short Essay Questions

1. What two reasons does the narrator give for Tom's fearlessness in the swamp and upon meeting the devil?

2. What natural event happens in the area in 1727, and what is its thematic significance?

3. What does Tom believe happened to his wife, and why, and how does he feel about it?

4. How does Tom treat his horses, and what does this illustrate about his character?

5. What becomes of Tom Walker and all of his wealth?

6. What is the significance of the devil's comment about Absalom Crowninshield's tree being ready to burn?

7. Who is the guardian of William Kidd's treasure, and why?

8. What things does the devil say he supervises on earth?

9. Why is the death of Absolom Crowninshield announced as the death of a great man in Israel when he actually died in Massachusetts?

10. How does Tom's wife react to his news, and what is his response to her?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,008 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample