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

2. 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 a pit.
(b) In a cave.
(c) In wetland.
(d) In forest.

3. Why is Tom's business immediately successful?
(a) There has been a series of large fires and people need to rebuild.
(b) There is a rush to buy land in the West.
(c) There has been a recent financial crisis.
(d) There has been a recent wave of immigration.

4. What is true of the tree with Deacon Peabody's name on it?
(a) It has fallen to the ground.
(b) The devil is burning it when Tom arrives.
(c) It is rotten inside.
(d) It stands apart from all of the other trees.

5. What does Tom find in the mud of the swamp?
(a) A human skull.
(b) A serpent.
(c) A piece of gold.
(d) The remains of a sacrifice to the devil.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is financial speculation?

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

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

4. What does Tom see at the base of the tree where the apron hangs?

5. Why does it take Tom a long time to get through the swamp?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is the guardian of William Kidd's treasure, and why?

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

3. What recent events lead to Tom's business being so successful?

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

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

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

7. What does Tom believe happened to his wife, and why, and how does he feel about it?

8. How does Tom ultimately slip up and get captured by the devil?

9. Describe the setting where Tom meets the devil.

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

(see the answer keys)

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