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

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

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

4. Why does the pirate not retrieve his treasure?
(a) He is executed.
(b) Someone moves it.
(c) He converts and does not want ill-gotten treasure.
(d) Tom Walker finds it first.

5. What is true about the horses that draw Tom's carriage?
(a) They are starving.
(b) They are more expensive than most people's houses.
(c) They were a gift from the devil.
(d) They are stolen from a neighbor.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the devil have all over his skin?

2. What is Tom's reaction to the idea of being a usurer?

3. What news does Tom's wife have for him when he returns from the swamp?

4. Which of the following does the devil say is the name he goes by in their area?

5. Why does Tom's wife go into the swamp, looking for the devil?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Tom believe is in the apron, and how does he feel when he sees it?

2. How does Tom treat his horses, and what does this illustrate about his character?

3. What is the significance of the devil's comment about Absalom Crowninshield's tree being ready to burn?

4. What is the implication of the conversation between the devil and Tom about the ownership of the swamp land?

5. What does Tom's wife do as a result of his refusal to make a deal with the devil, and what is the outcome?

6. What are Tom Walker's first house and property like?

7. What is similar about Tom's fancy house and his religious behavior?

8. What becomes of Tom Walker and all of his wealth?

9. How does the narrator add to the credibility of the story by mentioning the various possible fates of Tom's wife?

10. What implicit racism is there in the description of the fort that once stood in the swamp?

(see the answer keys)

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