View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Tom Walker is described as meager and miserly. What kind of a person is he?
(a) He insists on living so cheaply that he does not have the ordinary comforts of life.
(b) He lives in poverty because he gives away most of what he earns.
(c) He lives in luxury through cheating and stealing.
(d) He hoards money so that he can life a lavish lifestyle.

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

3. What does the countryman say he saw happen to Tom Walker?
(a) He was pulled down the road by an unseen hand which then drowned him in the swamp.
(b) He was flying through the air and dropped into the ocean.
(c) He was carried into the swamp by a horse just as the forest went up in flames.
(d) He burst into flames and then disappeared.

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

5. What is financial speculation?
(a) Buying something with the hope that it will rapidly increase in value.
(b) A joking term for illegal gambling.
(c) A group of expert opinions about the economy.
(d) Illegal investing by people with inside information.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is true of the tree with Deacon Peabody's name on it?

2. Why does the devil say that he has a right to cut wood on this land?

3. What mark does the devil leave on Tom?

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

5. What tone does the narrator adopt when saying that Tom is a friend to his clients?

Short Essay Questions

1. What things does the devil say he supervises on earth?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,063 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample