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

2. Why does the pirate not retrieve his treasure?
(a) Someone moves it.
(b) He is executed.
(c) Tom Walker finds it first.
(d) He converts and does not want ill-gotten treasure.

3. Which city is close to the setting of "The Devil and Tom Walker"?
(a) Boston.
(b) Salem.
(c) New York.
(d) Washington.

4. What is unusual about the house that Tom builds with the money he earns?
(a) It contains an alter to the devil.
(b) It is mostly unfinished and has little furniture.
(c) It is made from rotted timber.
(d) It is in the middle of the swamp.

5. What is one source of trouble in Tom Walker's marriage?
(a) Tom is physically abusive toward his wife.
(b) Tom's wife often disappears into the forest overnight.
(c) Tom's wife hides resources from him and keeps them for herself.
(d) Tom refuses to buy the luxuries his wife feels she deserves.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the countryman say he saw happen to Tom Walker?

2. What is Tom's reaction to the idea of being a usurer?

3. What tool does the devil carry?

4. What significant event happened in Massachusetts in 1727?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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. Explain how Tom develops into a religious hypocrite.

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

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

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

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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