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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why does Coulter come home for lunch?
(a) To enjoy a hot meal.
(b) To rest a little while.
(c) To please his wife.
(d) To get exercise from the walk.

2. Whose job is it to normally sweep the deck of a ship?
(a) The boys on board.
(b) The lowest seaman.
(c) The men on watch.
(d) All members of the work gangs.

3. What did the failure of his invention do for the uncle in "The Happy Failure?"
(a) Made him a good man.
(b) Made him furious.
(c) Made him more determined.
(d) Made him disappointed.

4. Why does the captain decide not to flog Steelkilt?
(a) He suddenly feels ashamed of his own behavior.
(b) Steelkilt makes an inaudible threat.
(c) He suddenly feels sorry for Steelkilt.
(d) He suddenly feels the menace of the rest of the crew.

5. What office does the narrator of Bartleby hold that no longer exists?
(a) Mayor.
(b) Master of Chancery.
(c) County Coroner.
(d) Justice of the Peace.

6. How is the narrator punished for sneaking into the church?
(a) He is publicly embarrassed, but pardoned.
(b) He is warned and set free.
(c) He is jailed overnight and fined.
(d) He is imprisoned.

7. What is the profession of the narrator of Bartleby?
(a) Judge.
(b) Tax accountant.
(c) Lawyer.
(d) Stockbroker.

8. What benefit does the narrator get from his indulgence of Bartleby's eccentricities?
(a) The approval of his peers.
(b) Bartleby's friendship.
(c) Self-approval.
(d) The approval of his employees.

9. How does Merrymusk convince the narrator that he is a rich man?
(a) He has a rooster worth five hundred dollars.
(b) He has a barn full of hay.
(c) He has a large tract of land.
(d) He has a large family.

10. Why doesn't the narrator dismiss Bartleby for insubordination?
(a) Bartleby is calm, showing no emotion.
(b) Bartleby promises to improve.
(c) Bartleby is distressed.
(d) Bartleby is obviously emotionally upset.

11. What object does the lookout spot that takes Melville's ship to Norfolk Isle?
(a) A handkerchief.
(b) An American flag.
(c) A white bird.
(d) A burning fire.

12. With what alliteration does Melville describe the islands?
(a) Extensive elegant exotica.
(b) Dark, doleful doomsday.
(c) Fruitful festival of fecundity.
(d) An archipelago of aridities.

13. Where do both the captain and Steelkilt go after they separate?
(a) Hawaii.
(b) France.
(c) England.
(d) Tahiti.

14. What does the crew decide not to do after Steelkilt is flogged?
(a) Call out when whales were sighted.
(b) Obey the captain.
(c) Start a mutiny.
(d) Desert together.

15. In which of Melville's novels is "The Town-Ho's Story" included?
(a) The Confidence Man.
(b) Billy Budd.
(c) Mardi.
(d) Moby Dick.

Short Answer Questions

1. What previous employment had shaped Bartleby?

2. Who is the worst enemy of the narrator of "Cock-a-Doodle-Doo?"

3. How does the narrator of "Cock-a-Doodle-Doo?" treat his creditor after hearing the crow?

4. What two characteristics does Melville attribute to the islands of the Encantadas?

5. How much does the uncle in "The Happy Failure" think his invention is worth?

(see the answer keys)

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