View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is unusual about the house that Tom builds with the money he earns?
(a) It is made from rotted timber.
(b) It is in the middle of the swamp.
(c) It is mostly unfinished and has little furniture.
(d) It contains an alter to the devil.

2. When the narrator says that Tom has built his house out of ostentation, what does this mean Tom's motive was?
(a) To show off.
(b) To fill a necessary purpose.
(c) To intimidate his neighbors.
(d) To glorify the devil.

3. What does Tom find in the mud of the swamp?
(a) A human skull.
(b) A piece of gold.
(c) The remains of a sacrifice to the devil.
(d) A serpent.

4. Why does the narrator say that Tom starts criticizing his neighbors?
(a) They try to point out to him that he is selfish.
(b) Tom thinks that it makes him seem like a better person.
(c) His panic is making him more and more angry.
(d) They begin asking him for money.

5. In the version of the story that the narrator says is most likely to be true, what draws Tom's attention to the tree where his wife's apron hangs?
(a) Her name scratched into the bark of the tree.
(b) The sound of crows calling.
(c) The tree is encircled with snakes.
(d) An eerie red light.

6. What happens to all of Tom's money and property at the end of the story?
(a) Everything changes into ash, bone, and wood shavings.
(b) A mysterious man appears, claiming to be Tom's heir.
(c) Tom's cheated clients divide it among themselves.
(d) The town elders donate it to the church.

7. By what name does Tom call the devil?
(a) Old Scratch.
(b) Mephistopheles.
(c) Old Nick.
(d) Satan.

8. What does Tom's wife take with her when she goes into the swamp for the second time?
(a) Their horse.
(b) A Bible.
(c) A rifle.
(d) All of their valuables.

9. Which city is close to the setting of "The Devil and Tom Walker"?
(a) Washington.
(b) Salem.
(c) New York.
(d) Boston.

10. Tom agrees to become a usurer. What job is he saying he will do?
(a) He will buy and sell land.
(b) He will become a landlord.
(c) He will invest money on behalf of other people.
(d) He will loan money at high interest rates.

11. What does the narrator say his third attempt to evade the devil shows about Tom?
(a) He is extremely naive.
(b) He is unusually clever.
(c) He has lost his mind.
(d) He is a very persistent man.

12. Who is said to have been present when the treasure was buried?
(a) The devil.
(b) A whaler.
(c) Geoffery Crayon.
(d) Tom Walker.

13. Tom's house is described as forlorn. What kind of house is it?
(a) Falling apart.
(b) Tall and imposing.
(c) Overdecorated.
(d) Sad and lonely.

14. According to the narrator, why does Tom not immediately agree to the devil's bargain?
(a) Tom is afraid that his wife will just take the money and hide it.
(b) Tom still does not believe that he is talking to the devil.
(c) The devil is not offering Tom enough money.
(d) What the devil wants from Tom is a serious thing that Tom wants to think over.

15. How does the devil say the Natives sacrificed a white man to him?
(a) They roasted him.
(b) They crucified him.
(c) They hung him.
(d) They chopped off his head.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does the devil stay away from Tom for a while after Tom's wife disappears?

2. Whom does the narrator seem to blame for the situation of Tom's clients?

3. Where does Tom open his business?

4. The swamp is full of quagmires. What does this mean it is full of?

5. What is the weather like on Tom's last day?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 680 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample