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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 Mrs. Whitman ask Dupin to do in front of her guests?
(a) Do a drawing of her face.
(b) Keep a picture of her in his wallet.
(c) Have a type of photograph of his face made.
(d) Pose for her.

2. How do the kidnappers plan to use Edmund's sister?
(a) As a seamstress.
(b) As a servant.
(c) As an accomplice.
(d) As a bargaining tool.

3. Why does Poe believe he will not marry Mrs. Whitman at the end of the novel?
(a) It doesn't fit into his story.
(b) He has lost interest.
(c) He believes she has lost interest in him.
(d) Too many people oppose their union.

4. How does Edmund convince Poe to help him find his sister?
(a) Threatening to tear up his story.
(b) Complimenting him on his detective skills.
(c) Offering to help him write his story.
(d) Withholding his liquor.

5. What happened to Poe in real life?
(a) He had a son named Edmund.
(b) He was rehabilitated.
(c) He was not a famous author.
(d) He declined into depression and alcoholism.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. When Edmund figures out where his sister is, who accompanies him to rescue her?

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

4. What does Dupin admit to Edmund about himself?

5. When Poe arrives at the scene where Edmund is trying to rescue his sister, how does he say he figured out the meaning of the decoded message?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. 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?

4. What is the symbolism in Chapter 19 of Edmund's grabbing Poe's story and threatening to rip it up if Poe does not help him?

5. 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?

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

7. Do you think Poe is able to make up his own mind whether or not to root for Edmund's happiness, or does his nature force him to hope for the worst?

8. Do you think Poe is a coward for giving up on marrying Helen because, as he says, too many timid people feel threatened by his power as a writer?

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

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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