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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 does the narrator of "Cock-a-Doodle-Doo?" view the world?
(a) Full of dangers, snares, and delusions.
(b) Full of puzzles, traps, and confusion.
(c) Full of casualties, despotism, and knocks on the head.
(d) Full of sunshine, flowers, and rainbows.

2. How does the narrator accommodate the weakness of his oldest scrivener?
(a) By allowing him to work only half a day.
(b) By hiring an assistant for him.
(c) By giving him unimportant papers in the morning.
(d) By giving him unimportant papers in the afternoon.

3. What does the narrator say a man does when confronted with an unreasonable situation?
(a) Doubts the other person.
(b) Questions his own mind.
(c) Digs in his heels.
(d) Acquiesces out of courtesy.

4. How does the narrator describe the men who work the Erie Canal?
(a) They are mild and calm.
(b) They are picturesquely wicked.
(c) They are strong and virtuous.
(d) They are sneaky and subtle.

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

Short Answer Questions

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

2. What is unusual about the pork at the Coulters' dinner table?

3. What did the American ship, the Essex, see in the Encantadas?

4. What part of the United States does the narrator of the Town-Ho's story claim is much like the sea?

5. With what alliteration does Melville describe the islands?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the captain decide to do with Steelkilt and those who followed him in insubordination?

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

3. What purpose does the circle of listeners serve in "The Town-Ho's Story"?

4. What verb tenses does Melville use in "The Two Temples" to bring immediacy to the story?

5. What does Steelkilt demand to prevent a mutiny?

6. How is the accuracy of copy verified by scriveners?

7. What stylistic devices does Melville use to give the reader the feeling of the rooster's crow in "Cock-a-Doodle-Doo"?

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

9. What did Steelkilt's followers decide to do upon their release?

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

(see the answer keys)

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