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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. Given what he learns at the portrait studio, what does Dupin come to believe?
(a) Edmund's aunt is still alive.
(b) Either Edmund's aunt or his mother is still alive.
(c) Both Edmund's aunt and his mother are dead.
(d) Edmund's mother is still alive.

2. What does Poe tell Edmund about his sister at the end of the story?
(a) She would have lived longer in his story than in reality.
(b) She is a stronger person than Edmund.
(c) She will probably not live long.
(d) She did not display courage throughout her abduction.

3. After Edmund's mother is recovered, what does Poe think about finding Edmund's sister?
(a) It is pointless because she is probably dead.
(b) It is less important than writing his story.
(c) It is more important that writing his story.
(d) It is only worth it to him if Edmund keeps him supplied with liquor.

4. What does Dupin learn at the portrait studio?
(a) Edmund's mother and aunt are twins.
(b) Edmund's mother and aunt look nothing alike.
(c) Edmund's mother and aunt are the same person.
(d) Edmund's mother and aunt both resemble Edmund's sister.

5. While Dupin is at Mrs. Whitman's home, what does Captain Elias tell Edmund at the docks?
(a) Fortnoy found the body floating in the harbor.
(b) Elias witnessed Fortnoy committing murder.
(c) Captain Elias found the body floating in the harbor.
(d) Elias suspects Fortnoy of foul play.

Short Answer Questions

1. What do Poe's actions at the end of the novel demonstrate?

2. What does another of the notices say?

3. How does Edmund convince Poe to help him find his sister?

4. What does Dupin use to decipher the encoded message Edmund found at Mrs. Whitman's house?

5. What does one of the newspaper notices say?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What is the importance of the guests' discussion of whether it is possible to read a man's character from his face?

3. Why do you think the author has Edmund's mother demand both the divorce and her money, rather than just being satisfied with a divorce, when she first encounters her husband?

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

5. What is the significance, in Chapter 16, of Edmund throwing himself at a man with a gun?

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

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. If you were Edmund, how do you feel about Poe's assertion that Sis lives on longer in Poe's story than she does in real life?

9. 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?

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

(see the answer keys)

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