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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. What is Rip's dog's name?
(a) Bear.
(b) Dutch.
(c) Dog.
(d) Wolf.

2. 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) Thorough and honest.
(b) Demanding and critical.
(c) Reckless and indifferent.
(d) Approximate and imperfect.

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

4. When on page 31, the narrator says of Rip that he will "eat white bread or brown," how is Rip being characterized?
(a) He is easy to please.
(b) He overeats.
(c) He only likes two kinds of bread.
(d) He is unaware of what he is eating.

5. 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) Hyperbole.
(c) Personification.
(d) Synechdoche.

Short Answer Questions

1. When on page 31, the narrator refers to Rip's wife's nagging as a "torrent of household eloquence," what tone is created?

2. On page 30, the reader learns that Rip is "obsequious" and his wife is a "termagant." What can accurately be said about their relationship?

3. How might Rip's house be described?

4. What is Diedrich Knickerbocker's profession?

5. What evidence does the frame narrator give that the main story's narrator is still well-liked?

Short Essay Questions

1. 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?

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

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

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

5. Describe the condition of Rip's children.

6. How is the setting of the Catskills described?

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

8. Describe the relationship between Rip and his wife.

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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