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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. What does the narrator say that savin trees symbolize?
2. What does the narrator compare Tom's clients to?
3. What significant event happened in Massachusetts in 1727?
4. What is Tom doing at the office on his last day?
5. What is the first thing that Tom does in an attempt to escape his bargain with the devil?
Short Essay Questions
1. How does Tom ultimately slip up and get captured by the devil?
2. What is the implication of the conversation between the devil and Tom about the ownership of the swamp land?
3. The devil lists several of his own nicknames for Tom; what pattern can be seen in these names, and what is its significance?
4. What recent events lead to Tom's business being so successful?
5. What natural event happens in the area in 1727, and what is its thematic significance?
6. Why is the death of Absolom Crowninshield announced as the death of a great man in Israel when he actually died in Massachusetts?
7. Describe the appearance of the devil in this story.
8. What does Tom find in the mud of the swamp, and why does the narrator describe it as a memento?
9. What are some of the details of the plants and animals in the swamp, and what do they signify?
10. What is the significance of the devil's comment about Absalom Crowninshield's tree being ready to burn?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Write an essay in which you analyze the symbol of the Bible buried beneath the stack of mortgage papers; be sure to consider more than just this one moment in the story and think of how it speaks to something larger than just Tom's behavior. Be sure to offer textual support for your claims.
Essay Topic 2
How does the story's allusion to the legend of El Dorodo support the overall meaning of the story? Explain the allusion, offer an interpretation, and then explain how it supports the story's theme. Be sure to offer textual support for your claims.
Essay Topic 3
What function do the frame story and the editorializing by the intrusive narrator serve in this story? Write an essay in which you take a position on one effect that both of these authorial choices support; be sure to offer textual support for your claims.
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This section contains 946 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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