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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. Why does Tom's wife go into the swamp, looking for the devil?
2. What tool does the devil carry?
3. What is the rumor in town about Absalom Crowninshield?
4. Tom agrees to become a usurer. What job is he saying he will do?
5. What is Tom's reaction to the idea of being a usurer?
Short Essay Questions
1. What kind of a person is Tom Walker's wife?
2. What is the significance of the devil's comment about Absalom Crowninshield's tree being ready to burn?
3. Why is the death of Absolom Crowninshield announced as the death of a great man in Israel when he actually died in Massachusetts?
4. How does the narrator add to the credibility of the story by mentioning the various possible fates of Tom's wife?
5. Describe the setting where Tom meets the devil.
6. What does Tom find in the mud of the swamp, and why does the narrator describe it as a memento?
7. What natural event happens in the area in 1727, and what is its thematic significance?
8. What are some of the details of the plants and animals in the swamp, and what do they signify?
9. What two reasons does the narrator give for Tom's fearlessness in the swamp and upon meeting the devil?
10. Before Tom and the devil part, how does the devil seal his side of the bargain and what does this allude to?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Washington Irving was devoted to the idea of the creation of a specifically American literature, separate from the European literature of the Old World. Write an essay in which you analyze how "The Devil and Tom Walker" fulfills this purpose.
Essay Topic 2
How does the story's allusion to the legend of El Dorodo support the overall meaning of the story? Explain the allusion, offer an interpretation, and then explain how it supports the story's theme. Be sure to offer textual support for your claims.
Essay Topic 3
What does this short story seem to suggest about the religious atmosphere of Puritan New England? Write an essay with a thesis that takes into the consideration both positive and negative aspects of the religious life of the story's characters. Be sure to offer textual support for your claims.
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This section contains 976 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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