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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

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

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

4. 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 local indigenous leaders.
(b) The wives of prominent Dutch colonists.
(c) The wives of country farmers.
(d) The wives of political officials.

5. From the description of Rip's attitude to his farm, on page 30, what can be deduced about Rip?
(a) He likes to make excuses instead of taking care of his responsibilities.
(b) His attitude toward his own family is similar to his attitude toward the villagers.
(c) He is devoted to his home and family.
(d) His farm is envied by many of his neighbors.

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

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

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

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

10. What kind of relationship does Rip have with the village children?
(a) The children are frightened of Rip because he is always yelling at his son and daughter.
(b) The children are frightened of Rip because of his habit of talking to himself.
(c) He is a favorite of theirs because he plays with them and tells stories.
(d) He is a favorite of theirs because he steals apples from a nearby orchard for them.

11. Who is the author of "Rip Van Winkle"?
(a) Washington Irving.
(b) Geoffrey Crayon.
(c) James Fenimore Cooper.
(d) Diedrich Knickerbocker.

12. How might Rip's house be described?
(a) Expensive.
(b) Filthy.
(c) Inviting.
(d) Run-down.

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

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

15. Under what pseudonym was "Rip Van Winkle" published?
(a) Geoffrey Crayon.
(b) Diedrich Knickerbocker.
(c) James Fenimore Cooper.
(d) Washington Irving.

Short Answer Questions

1. After he can no longer spend time with his friends, where does Rip start going to spend time away from his home and farm?

2. What is Rip's dog's name?

3. 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?

4. Why does Rip stop spending time with his friends?

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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