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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 causes Tom to start to worry about the deal he has made with the devil?
(a) He gets older and begins to worry about death.
(b) He thinks that he sees the ghost of his wife.
(c) He hears a traveling preacher speak.
(d) He has a near-miss with a carriage accident.

2. Part of the story is set in a morass. What kind of location is this?
(a) A muddy or boggy area.
(b) An overgrown field.
(c) A flat area where a river enters the sea.
(d) A mountaintop.

3. Why does the narrator say that only Tom Walker would have the nerve to stop at the Native stronghold in the sawmp?
(a) The area is still frequented by a hostile Native tribe.
(b) There is a rumor that the Natives worshiped the devil there.
(c) The area is overrun with snakes and alligators.
(d) Other townspeople have seen the devil there.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What tradition does Tom say should be revived?

2. How does Tom treat his most needy clients?

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

4. To whom does Tom think the forested swampland belongs?

5. What does Tom notice about the tallest trees in the swamp?

Short Essay Questions

1. Before Tom and the devil part, how does the devil seal his side of the bargain and what does this allude to?

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

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

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

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

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

7. Describe the setting where Tom meets the devil.

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

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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