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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. To what does the narrator compare the sound of Tom's carriage wheels?
(a) The creaking of the trees in the swamp.
(b) The clinking of coins.
(c) The souls of his clients.
(d) The laughter of the devil.

2. What do Tom's neighbors do about the constant fighting in the Walker house?
(a) They stop in to try to find out what is wrong.
(b) They call the police.
(c) They ask Tom about it privately.
(d) They ignore it.

3. Why is Tom happy to see the apron?
(a) He thinks it means his wife may be nearby.
(b) He believes that it means his wife is dead.
(c) He believes that it contains valuable items.
(d) He thinks that his wife left it as a sign to him.

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

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

6. Why does the devil say that he has a right to cut wood on this land?
(a) He says that the owner sold it to him.
(b) He says that the entire earth belongs to him.
(c) He says that he owns the soul of its owner.
(d) He says that it belonged to him long before Europeans came to North America.

7. What news does Tom's wife have for him when he returns from the swamp?
(a) Their horse has escaped and they need to replace it.
(b) A great treasure has been mysteriously left on their step.
(c) The governor himself has been to visit them.
(d) Absalom Crowninshield has died.

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

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

10. What does Tom see near the apron, keeping watch over it?
(a) An alligator.
(b) A black cat.
(c) A vulture.
(d) A snake.

11. How does Tom treat his most needy clients?
(a) He takes advantage of their need to drive especially hard bargains with them.
(b) He pretends that he will help them, then refuses to do business with them.
(c) He breaks the rules of his bargain with the devil to help them.
(d) He mocks them and is openly rude.

12. What does Tom see at the base of the tree where the apron hangs?
(a) One of his wife's shoes.
(b) Axe marks in the bark.
(c) Shovel marks in the dirt.
(d) Evidence that his wife fought with the devil.

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

14. Who wrote "The Devil and Tom Walker"?
(a) Stephen Vincent Benét
(b) Washington Irving.
(c) Nathaniel Hawthorne.
(d) Geoffery Crayon.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. Whose clothing does the devil's clothing resemble?

2. What is the rumor in town about Absalom Crowninshield?

3. To what does the narrator metaphorically compare the financial speculation of Governor Belcher's time?

4. Tom agrees to become a usurer. What job is he saying he will do?

5. What is Tom's first mistake on his last day?

(see the answer keys)

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