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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. Who is said to have been present when the treasure was buried?
(a) Tom Walker.
(b) A whaler.
(c) Geoffery Crayon.
(d) The devil.

2. When the narrator refers to Tom's parsimony, what characteristic is being discussed?
(a) Cheapness.
(b) Trickery.
(c) Evil.
(d) Hypocrisy.

3. What does Tom refuse to do with the money?
(a) Open a church.
(b) Purchase a commission in the military.
(c) Run for office.
(d) Become a slave trader.

4. What tradition does Tom say should be revived?
(a) Public hangings.
(b) The persecution of other religious sects.
(c) The witch trials.
(d) War with Native tribes.

5. By what name does Tom call the devil?
(a) Mephistopheles.
(b) Old Nick.
(c) Satan.
(d) Old Scratch.

Short Answer Questions

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

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

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

4. What is one unusual physical feature of the devil?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. What natural event happens in the area in 1727, and what is its thematic significance?

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

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

4. What does Tom find in the mud of the swamp, and why does the narrator describe it as a memento?

5. What two reasons does the narrator give for Tom's fearlessness in the swamp and upon meeting the devil?

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

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

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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