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

2. Why does the devil say that he has a right to cut wood on this land?
(a) He says that the entire earth belongs to him.
(b) He says that it belonged to him long before Europeans came to North America.
(c) He says that the owner sold it to him.
(d) He says that he owns the soul of its owner.

3. What word does the narrator use twice to describe the situation of Tom's clients?
(a) Dubious.
(b) Fortunate.
(c) Unexpected.
(d) Desperate.

4. How does the devil say the Natives sacrificed a white man to him?
(a) They hung him.
(b) They roasted him.
(c) They chopped off his head.
(d) They crucified him.

5. Why does Tom Walker originally go into the swamp?
(a) He is trying to take a shortcut home.
(b) He is lost.
(c) He is looking for his wife.
(d) He has heard a rumor about the pirate treasure.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. What is Tom doing at the office on his last day?

3. What does Tom begin keeping on the desk in his office?

4. Which city is close to the setting of "The Devil and Tom Walker"?

5. What can a reader infer is one of the devil's conditions in the bargain he makes with Tom?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. What is the implication of the conversation between the devil and Tom about the ownership of the swamp land?

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

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

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

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

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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