2. What two things does this novel incorporate?
(a) Police work and amateur sleuthing.
(b) Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot as characters.
(c) Poe's literary methodology and Poe as a fictional character.
(d) Magic and realism.

3. When Edward goes to the saloon to buy supplies for himself and Dupin, according to the posted sign, who is offering a reward for the location of Mrs. G. Rachett?
(a) Mr. Poley.
(b) The police.
(c) Mr. Arnold.
(d) Mr. Rachett.

4. In what month does the story begin?
(a) November.
(b) September.
(c) March.
(d) January.

5. When Edmund enters his room with the food for himself and his sister, what state is his sister in?
(a) She is asleep.
(b) She is missing.
(c) She is in tears.
(d) She is happy.

Short Answer Questions

1. As he prepares to meet Mrs. Whitman, who does Dupin tell Edmund he believes Edmund's aunt's murderer is?

2. What street does Edmund live on?

3. What does Dupin asks Edmund to do when they first meet?

4. Who is Auguste Dupin?

5. What promise does Sis make to Edmund before he leaves her alone in the room?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did Edgar Allan Poe do in his mystery stories that no one had done before, and how does this impact future mystery writers?

2. Do you think the story would be as effective if it were set in a different time period?

3. How do you think the character Dupin reflects the real-life Poe?

4. Why do you think Edmund continues to trust Dupin, even after reading in Dupin's notebook in Chapter Nine that Dupin thinks his story should end with Sis' death?

5. Why do you think the author chose not to reveal Sis's true name?

6. Do you think there is any significance to the author's choice of the name "Edmund"?

7. What is the significance of the absence of adults in the Prologue?

8. Why do you think Poe chooses to go by the name of his fictional detective?

9. How does the locked-room mystery engage the reader?

10. When Edmund sees Dupin asleep, surrounded by empty liquor bottles, in Chapter Three, what conflict does it bring about it Edmund's thinking?

(see the answer keys)

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