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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 one unusual physical feature of the devil?
(a) He has horns.
(b) His voice is like a snake's hiss.
(c) He has red eyes.
(d) He smells of sulfur.

2. Why is Tom's business immediately successful?
(a) There has been a recent wave of immigration.
(b) There is a rush to buy land in the West.
(c) There has been a series of large fires and people need to rebuild.
(d) There has been a recent financial crisis.

3. Where is the pirate treasure buried?
(a) Beneath a tall oak.
(b) On an island in the Charles Bay.
(c) Under a fallen hemlock.
(d) In an abandoned fort.

4. What is the reason the narrator gives for Tom not fearing the devil?
(a) Tom thinks that he can outsmart the devil.
(b) After fighting in several battles with Natives, Tom is too hardened to be afraid.
(c) Tom does not believe in the devil.
(d) Nothing scares Tom after having to deal with his wife.

5. Tom agrees to become a usurer. What job is he saying he will do?
(a) He will invest money on behalf of other people.
(b) He will become a landlord.
(c) He will buy and sell land.
(d) He will loan money at high interest rates.

Short Answer Questions

1. When the narrator says that Tom has built his house out of ostentation, what does this mean Tom's motive was?

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

3. Who is said to have been present when the treasure was buried?

4. What is one source of trouble in Tom Walker's marriage?

5. What is true about the horses that draw Tom's carriage?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain how Tom develops into a religious hypocrite.

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

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

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

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

6. How does Tom ultimately slip up and get captured by the devil?

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

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

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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