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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. There is a rumor that Tom's wife's hat was found floating on top of what?
(a) A quagmire.
(b) A cenote.
(c) A holt.
(d) A knoll.

2. What does Tom notice about the tallest trees in the swamp?
(a) They all have the marks of a recent fire.
(b) They each bear the name of a prominent citizen.
(c) They have all been cut down.
(d) They are all rotten inside.

3. How does Tom seal his bargain with the devil?
(a) With a handshake.
(b) With a burnt offering.
(c) By cutting his thumb with the devil's knife.
(d) By signing a document.

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

5. The narrator says that the timing for Tom's business is propitious. What kind of timing would this be?
(a) Unlucky.
(b) Favorable.
(c) Too late to make a difference.
(d) In advance of need.

6. Part of the story is set in a morass. What kind of location is this?
(a) A mountaintop.
(b) An overgrown field.
(c) A muddy or boggy area.
(d) A flat area where a river enters the sea.

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

8. What does the narrator say that savin trees symbolize?
(a) Greed.
(b) Anger.
(c) Hypocrisy.
(d) Sterility.

9. What causes Tom to start to worry about the deal he has made with the devil?
(a) He has a near-miss with a carriage accident.
(b) He hears a traveling preacher speak.
(c) He thinks that he sees the ghost of his wife.
(d) He gets older and begins to worry about death.

10. What mark does the devil leave on Tom?
(a) A claw mark.
(b) A black fingerprint.
(c) A red mark in the shape of an axe.
(d) An upside-down cross.

11. Why does Tom's wife go into the swamp, looking for the devil?
(a) She wants to argue for more money.
(b) She does not believe Tom and wants to see for herself.
(c) She wants to strike the bargain with him herself.
(d) She wants to tell the devil to stay away from her husband.

12. What tone does the narrator adopt when saying that Tom is a friend to his clients?
(a) Sorrowful.
(b) Sarcastic.
(c) Nostalgic.
(d) Condescending.

13. To whom does Tom think the forested swampland belongs?
(a) Absalom Crowninshield
(b) Deacon Peabody.
(c) The local Native tribe.
(d) The devil.

14. What is Tom doing at the office on his last day?
(a) Accepting an offer to run for governor.
(b) Selling his business.
(c) Foreclosing a mortgage.
(d) Buying the land the swamp sits on.

15. What does the narrator compare Tom's clients to?
(a) Crops.
(b) Children.
(c) Sheep.
(d) Sponges.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. Why does Tom tell his wife about his meeting with the devil?

3. Why does the narrator say that only Tom Walker would have the nerve to stop at the Native stronghold in the sawmp?

4. Why does Tom Walker originally go into the swamp?

5. Tom's wife is described as a termagant--what kind of person does this mean she is?

(see the answer keys)

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