View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What do Poe's actions at the end of the novel demonstrate?
(a) He has a new lease on life.
(b) He has given up on life.
(c) He is suicidal.
(d) He is determined to help others.

2. When he stops on his way to the cemetery, what does Dupin imagine that he sees?
(a) Women.
(b) Ghosts.
(c) Tombstones.
(d) Children.

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

4. At the docks, who is Edmund pursued by?
(a) A ghost.
(b) Someone he never sees.
(c) A man with white hair.
(d) A man with dark hair.

5. According to Dupin, from whom did Rachett learn about the gold in the vault?
(a) A newspaper.
(b) Peterson.
(c) Throck.
(d) Arnold.

Short Answer Questions

1. How do the kidnappers plan to use Edmund's sister?

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

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

4. At the end, what does Edmund come to realize about Poe's agenda?

5. What does Mrs. Whitman ask Dupin to do in front of her guests?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. 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?

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

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

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

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

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

9. Why do both Dupin and Edmund frequently believe they have seen ghosts?

10. How do you think Edmund felt upon reading the beginning of Poe's story, and seeing the name "Edgar" changed to "Edmund"? Do you think it made him regret having torn up the rest of the story?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,028 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample