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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. What truth does Edmund demand of Poe before they part ways?
(a) Whether he is really a writer.
(b) Whether he really had a wife named Sis.
(c) Whether his name is really Poe.
(d) Whether he was really trying to save Sis.

2. What does Edmund buy at the tavern for himself and his mother?
(a) Candles and matches.
(b) Bread.
(c) A newspaper.
(d) A meat pie.

3. What does Edmund realizes about the meaning of the word "Sunrise" in the decoded message?
(a) It is a drink.
(b) It is a story.
(c) It is a ship.
(d) It is a picture.

4. How does Throck convince Poe to help him and Edmund find Edmund's sister?
(a) Giving him liquor.
(b) Bribing him.
(c) Threatening to tear up his story.
(d) Withholding his liquor.

5. What does Mrs. Whitman tells her guests that Dupin/Poe is?
(a) A detective.
(b) An author.
(c) Edmund's father.
(d) Her suitor.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Poe believe about Edmund's sister's ultimate fate?

2. What does Dupin NOT tell Edmund about his mother?

3. What happens to the ship Edmund's sister was on?

4. Why is the decoded message Edmund found at Mrs. Whitman's house unclear?

5. What does Poe tell Edmund about his sister at the end of the story?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the turning point Edmund experiences in Chapter 14?

2. Why do you think the author uses the circular technique of starting Poe's story in a way that is identical to the start of the novel?

3. Why do you think the author has Poe share his thought process throughout the story, rather than saving all his insights for the end?

4. Why do you think Poe drops the remainder of his story on the ground before walking away from Edward for the last time?

5. Why do you think Edmund makes the final decision to tear up Poe's story before going to the docks to rescue Sis?

6. Why is it significant in Chapter 19 that Edmund decodes an important riddle while all the adults around him sleep?

7. Why do you think Dupin decides that his work is done after summing up the details of the solved mystery in Chapter 17?

8. What does Dupin mean in Chapter 14 when he tells Edmund that "the story is over"?

9. How does the final chase scene in Chapter 21 differ from the rest of the novel?

10. What does Dupin mean in Chapter 16 when he tells Edmund that "lies have their own truth"?

(see the answer keys)

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