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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 does Dupin tell Edmund about Mr. Arnold?
(a) He is Edmund's step-father.
(b) He is Edmund's father.
(c) He is Edmund's mother's murderer.
(d) He is Edmund's aunt's murderer.

2. What happens to the ship Edmund's sister was on?
(a) It overturns.
(b) It gets away.
(c) It hits a rock.
(d) It plows into Edmund's boat.

3. What kind of book does the person Edmund sees at the cemetery drop?
(a) A prayer book.
(b) A mystery story.
(c) A Bible.
(d) A notebook.

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

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

Short Answer Questions

1. With whom is Dupin's first encounter at the cemetery?

2. For what reason does Dupin believe Edmund's sister was abducted?

3. When they return to Edmund's room after Edmund is attacked, what does Dupin tell Edmund to find?

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

5. What does Dupin NOT tell Edmund about Arnold's classified ad?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the symbolism in Chapter 19 of Poe's belief upon seeing Edmund and his mother that his characters have come to life?

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

3. What is the symbolism, in Chapter 13, of Dupin's imagining that Helen's mothers guests are demons wearing masks of black death?

4. 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?

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

6. 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?

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. Why is it significant in Chapter 14 that Edmund first begins to doubt Dupin's detective skills after talking to Captain Elias?

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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