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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In the frame narrative, the reader is told that the main story's narrator gets his information from the wives of the "burghers" (28). Whose wives are these?
(a) The wives of country farmers.
(b) The wives of prominent Dutch colonists.
(c) The wives of local indigenous leaders.
(d) The wives of political officials.

2. Who is Derrick Van Brummel?
(a) The schoolmaster.
(b) The mayor.
(c) The owner of the village inn.
(d) The owner of a local hotel.

3. What is Diedrich Knickerbocker's profession?
(a) Farmer.
(b) Historian.
(c) Writer of novels.
(d) Governor.

4. On page 29, the mountains are said to be "lording it over the surrounding country." This is an example of which literary technique?
(a) Onomatopoeia.
(b) Personification.
(c) Hyperbole.
(d) Synechdoche.

5. Who is "Dame" Van Winkle?
(a) Rip's wife.
(b) Rip's sister.
(c) Rip's mother.
(d) Rip's daughter.

6. In the epigraph from Cartwright's play, to whom does the speaker swear that he will be honest?
(a) The Christian God.
(b) The Saxon god, Woden.
(c) The Celtic god, Alator.
(d) The Norse god, Odin.

7. Which nation controls New York at the time when Rip and the village are introduced to the reader?
(a) Holland.
(b) The United States.
(c) Sweden.
(d) Great Britain.

8. Where does Rip spend time with his friends?
(a) Hunting in the woods.
(b) Inside the bar of a local hotel.
(c) On a bench outside the village inn.
(d) Fishing in the Hudson River.

9. How does Rip's wife treat his dog?
(a) She treats the dog better than anyone else in the family.
(b) She insists that the dog stay outside and earn its keep on the farm.
(c) She treats the dog the same way she treats Rip.
(d) She ignores the dog completely.

10. When on page 31, the narrator refers to Rip's wife's nagging as a "torrent of household eloquence," what tone is created?
(a) Farcical.
(b) Ironic.
(c) Nostalgic.
(d) Maudlin.

11. What evidence does the frame narrator give that the main story's narrator is still well-liked?
(a) His picture is stamped onto new year's cakes.
(b) His portrait is hung in many local schools.
(c) There is a children's rope-skipping rhyme about him.
(d) There is a street in New York named after him.

12. What is Rip's son's name?
(a) Dutch.
(b) Rip.
(c) John.
(d) Peter.

13. Who is Peter Stuyvesant?
(a) A former governor of New York.
(b) The village schoolmaster.
(c) Rip's neighbor.
(d) The owner of the village inn.

14. On page 29, the narrator says that a person might have "descried" the smoke from the village. What does this mean a person might have done?
(a) Seen it.
(b) Been puzzled by it.
(c) Explained its details.
(d) Complained about it.

15. On page 28, the reader is told that the narrator of the main story is known for "scrupulous" accuracy. What kind of accuracy is this?
(a) Demanding and critical.
(b) Reckless and indifferent.
(c) Thorough and honest.
(d) Approximate and imperfect.

Short Answer Questions

1. From the description of Rip's attitude to his farm, on page 30, what can be deduced about Rip?

2. How might Rip's house be described?

3. Who is the frame narrator of "Rip Van Winkle"?

4. When on page 31, the narrator says of Rip that he will "eat white bread or brown," how is Rip being characterized?

5. On page 30, the reader is told that Rip has an "insuperable aversion to all kinds of profitable labour." What does this mean is true about him?

(see the answer keys)

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