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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the style of the novel mimic?

2. What does Dupin admit to Edmund about himself?

3. What happens to Edmund when he confronts his sister's kidnapper?

4. After Edmund's mother is recovered, what does Poe think about finding Edmund's sister?

5. When Edmund arrives to rescue his sister, who is trying to take her away?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. 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?

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

4. 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?

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

6. How does Edmund's character change by Chapter 18, compared to the Prologue?

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

8. 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?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Dupin/Poe tells Edmund that "lies have their own truth." Do you agree? Do you think this is the case only in fiction, or in real life as well?

Essay Topic 2

In Chapter 13, the guests discuss whether it is possible to read a man's character from his face. Do you think they are accurately describing Dupin's approach to crime solving? For example, does Dupin/Poe attempt to discern whether a man is honest simply by looking at him? Do you think you can generally "judge a book by its cover", or is more probing required to get to the truth?

Essay Topic 3

What is the significance of the beginning of Poe's story being identical to the prologue of the novel? What does it say about the relationship between Poe and Edmund? Do you think it is an indication that Poe's association with Edmund changed him?

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