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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How much does the uncle in "The Happy Failure" think his invention is worth?
(a) More than a life's work.
(b) More than his house.
(c) More than gold.
(d) More than silver.

2. What do the Peruvian listeners force the storyteller to do to prove his story is true?
(a) Produce another witness.
(b) Cross his heart.
(c) Show some evidence.
(d) Swear on the Bible.

3. Why does the Town-Ho's captain have to put the ship into port?
(a) Its crewmen are ill with scurvy.
(b) There has been a mutiny on board.
(c) It has sprung a leak.
(d) It has run out of supplies.

4. How does the narrator describe life on the sea as compared to farming or working the Erie Canal?
(a) Sea life is "reckless and barbaric."
(b) Sea life is "daring and brave."
(c) Sea life is "calm and pure."
(d) Sea life is "quietly Christian."

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What good qualities does Bartleby have as an employee?

2. What does Melville say is the most populous species on the island of Albermarle?

3. What age is the narrator of Bartleby?

4. What did a strange boy give the narrator in the theater?

5. Who are Pedro and Sebastian in The Town-Ho's Story?

Short Essay Questions

1. What do the sailors in "The Encantadas" do with tortoises?

2. Why does Melville believe that American poor suffer more than European poor?

3. What is Nippers's shortcoming as a scrivener?

4. How does the creditor in "Cock-a-Doodle-Doo" torment the narrator?

5. What skills are necessary for a scrivener?

6. In "Rich Man's Crumbs," why is the narrator called a "graceless ragamuffin"?

7. What are Turkey's shortcomings as a scrivener?

8. What was disrespectful about Radney asking Steelkilt to sweep the deck?

9. How does the poet Blandmour feel about poverty in "Poor Man's Pudding"?

10. Why does the narrator continue to accept Bartleby's refusals?

(see the answer keys)

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