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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. Who takes possession as the sole ruler of St. Charles Isle?
(a) A Creole soldier.
(b) A Peruvian king.
(c) A Bolivian pirate.
(d) A Chilean adventurer.

2. What has the uncle in "The Happy Failure" invented?
(a) A device for building dams.
(b) A device for diverting rivers.
(c) A device for draining swamps.
(d) A device for purifying water.

3. What are the two failings the narrator sees in his middle-aged scrivener?
(a) A bad temper and gambling.
(b) Indigestion and messiness.
(c) Dishonesty and ambition.
(d) Ambition and indigestion.

4. What do Steelkilt and his men demand in return for obeying orders?
(a) Radney will be punished.
(b) They will not be punished.
(c) They will be given better wages.
(d) They will not have to sweep the decks.

5. With what weapon does Radney threaten Steelkilt?
(a) A knife.
(b) A rope.
(c) A gun.
(d) A hammer.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Melville believe the charities of London do for the poor?

2. What do Steelkilt's three remaining conspirators decide to do to save themselves?

3. Of what does the onstage action in the London theater remind the narrator?

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

5. What previous employment had shaped Bartleby?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What does the narrator say happens to one in command who discovers a subordinate who is "significantly his superior"?

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

4. Why is the direct route for an ocean voyage not always the fastest or best, according to Melville in "The Encantadas"?

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

6. How does the narrator respond the first time Bartleby answers a request with, "I would prefer not to"?

7. Why does the narrator say that pity turns into repulsion?

8. Why does Melville call Redondo the "aviary of the ocean"?

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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