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

2. What makes the item on Tom's desk ironic?
(a) Tom's superstition.
(b) The nature of Tom's enemy.
(c) Tom's job.
(d) The use of the item later in the story.

3. Why does the devil stay away from Tom for a while after Tom's wife disappears?
(a) The devil is trying to create a bargaining advantage.
(b) The devil is giving Tom time to get over his fear.
(c) The devil knows that Tom is furious.
(d) The devil has other business to attend to in a nearby town.

4. What is the weather like on Tom's last day?
(a) It snows in the middle of summer.
(b) It rains nonstop.
(c) It is unseasonably hot.
(d) A storm is brewing.

5. What is Tom's reaction to the disappearance and likely death of his wife?
(a) He is angry.
(b) It cheers him up.
(c) He is in shock.
(d) It makes him afraid.

Short Answer Questions

1. What happens to all of Tom's money and property at the end of the story?

2. What does the countryman say he saw happen to Tom Walker?

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

4. What does the narrator compare Tom's clients to?

5. What is true about the horses that draw Tom's carriage?

Short Essay Questions

1. The devil lists several of his own nicknames for Tom; what pattern can be seen in these names, and what is its significance?

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

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

4. What does Tom do with his money and what does it show about his personality?

5. What is the reaction of the Walkers' neighbors to their fighting?

6. What are some of the details of the plants and animals in the swamp, and what do they signify?

7. What kind of a person is Tom Walker's wife?

8. Why is the death of Absolom Crowninshield announced as the death of a great man in Israel when he actually died in Massachusetts?

9. How does Tom's wife react to his news, and what is his response to her?

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

(see the answer keys)

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