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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What word does the narrator use twice to describe the situation of Tom's clients?
(a) Fortunate.
(b) Unexpected.
(c) Desperate.
(d) Dubious.

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

3. What is Tom's reaction to the idea of being a usurer?
(a) He is enthusiastic and willing to do even more than the devil asks.
(b) He is reluctant but understands that it is an important service to the community.
(c) He agrees but only because he misunderstands the devil's intentions.
(d) He is strongly opposed but finally agrees.

4. What is financial speculation?
(a) Illegal investing by people with inside information.
(b) Buying something with the hope that it will rapidly increase in value.
(c) A group of expert opinions about the economy.
(d) A joking term for illegal gambling.

5. In the passage about Tom's activities in church, what aspect of his character is being stressed?
(a) Hypocrisy.
(b) Selfishness.
(c) Miserliness.
(d) Loneliness.

6. What is true of the tree Tom is sitting on?
(a) It bears Tom's own name.
(b) The devil has lit it on fire.
(c) It bears the name of Absalom Crowninshield.
(d) The devil claims that it fell down on its own.

7. 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 glorify the devil.
(c) To intimidate his neighbors.
(d) To fill a necessary purpose.

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

9. Where does Tom open his business?
(a) Salem.
(b) New York.
(c) Washington.
(d) Boston.

10. The narrator says that it is possible that Tom's wife was lost in a slough. Where would this mean she was lost?
(a) In forest.
(b) In a cave.
(c) In wetland.
(d) In a pit.

11. Whom does the narrator seem to blame for the situation of Tom's clients?
(a) Tom and the devil.
(b) The clients and Tom.
(c) The government and the clients.
(d) The devil and the government.

12. What is the reason the narrator gives for Tom not fearing the devil?
(a) Tom thinks that he can outsmart the devil.
(b) After fighting in several battles with Natives, Tom is too hardened to be afraid.
(c) Nothing scares Tom after having to deal with his wife.
(d) Tom does not believe in the devil.

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

14. 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) The sound of crows calling.
(b) Her name scratched into the bark of the tree.
(c) The tree is encircled with snakes.
(d) An eerie red light.

15. When Tom opens the apron, what does he find inside?
(a) A skull.
(b) His wife's heart and liver.
(c) Gold coins.
(d) Valuable silver.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Tom seal his bargain with the devil?

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

3. According to the narrator, why does Tom not immediately agree to the devil's bargain?

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

5. What is Tom's reaction to the disappearance and likely death of his wife?

(see the answer keys)

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