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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does a scrivener do?
(a) Organizes court records.
(b) Makes copies of legal documents.
(c) Records testimony in court.
(d) Researches legal precedents.

2. What animal does Melville claim is not at home at sea, on land, or in the air?
(a) The bat.
(b) The cormorant.
(c) The walrus.
(d) The penguin.

3. Why does the narrator of "Cock-a-Doodle-Doo?" call the rooster Signor Beneventano?
(a) The rooster reminds him of a character in a book.
(b) The rooster reminds him of a song.
(c) The rooster reminds him of his neighbor.
(d) The rooster reminds him of a character in a play.

4. What prevents Steelkilt from taking revenge on Radney?
(a) Moby Dick kills Radney.
(b) The captain orders Radney executed.
(c) Radney apologizes.
(d) Steelkilt has a change of heart.

5. What is unusual about the pork at the Coulters' dinner table?
(a) It is not really pork.
(b) It is only fat and gristle.
(c) It is last year's.
(d) It is only hides.

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

7. What surprises the narrator when he goes to his office on a Sunday?
(a) Bartleby has stolen his things.
(b) Bartleby has been living there.
(c) Bartleby has been working on the weekend.
(d) Bartleby has invited friends to the office.

8. What does the crew decide to do after Steelkilt is flogged?
(a) Desert together.
(b) Murder Radney.
(c) Obey the captain.
(d) Start a mutiny.

9. What does Steelkilt threaten to do if he is flogged by the captain?
(a) Seek an unnamed revenge.
(b) Jump overboard.
(c) Tell the admiralty board of review.
(d) Murder the captain.

10. 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 family.
(d) He has a large tract of land.

11. What did the American ship, the Essex, see in the Encantadas?
(a) An enchanted ship.
(b) An English ship.
(c) A ghost ship.
(d) A pirate ship.

12. How does the narrator get into the London theater presentation?
(a) He pawns his overcoat to buy a ticket.
(b) He sneaks in a side door.
(c) He finds a ticket on the sidewalk.
(d) A stranger gives him a ticket.

13. What human assumption does Melville say is the most preposterous?
(a) Criticism of the rich by the poor.
(b) Understanding of the poor by the rich.
(c) Criticism of the poor by the rich.
(d) Understanding of the rich by the poor.

14. What age is the narrator of Bartleby?
(a) In his thirties.
(b) In his sixties.
(c) In his forties.
(d) In his fifties.

15. What does Bartleby's demeanor show about his eccentricities?
(a) They are unimportant.
(b) They are involuntary.
(c) They are important.
(d) They are voluntary.

Short Answer Questions

1. What quality of Bartleby's induces the narrator to hire him?

2. What does the arrangement of the office allow Bartleby to do with the narrator?

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

4. What did the failure of his invention do for the uncle in "The Happy Failure?"

5. How does the narrator describe the men who work the Erie Canal?

(see the answer keys)

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