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

2. 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 Christian God.
(c) The Saxon god, Woden.
(d) The Norse god, Odin.

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?
(a) Seen it.
(b) Complained about it.
(c) Explained its details.
(d) Been puzzled by it.

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

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

Short Answer Questions

1. 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?

2. Where is the village that Rip lives in?

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

4. What kind of relationship does Rip have with the village children?

5. 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?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe how Rip's relationship with the dog contrasts with his wife's relationship with the dog.

2. Explain the relationship of Washington Irving, Diedrich Knickerbocker, and Geoffrey Crayon.

3. How is the setting of the Catskills described?

4. Describe the relationship between Rip and his wife.

5. What do Rip and his friends do when they gather together outside the village inn, and how does this characterize Rip?

6. What relationship does Rip have with the village children, and how does it characterize him?

7. Describe the condition of Rip's children.

8. Describe the condition of Rip's home and farm.

9. Explain what the frame narrative says about the historian who recorded Rip's story--where does his work come from, and how reliable is it?

10. Describe the contents of the story's epigraph and tell how this relates to the frame narrative.

(see the answer keys)

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