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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 makes it difficult to know what actually happened to Tom's wife?

2. What is the weather like on Tom's last day?

3. Tom Walker is described as meager and miserly. What kind of a person is he?

4. To what does the narrator metaphorically compare the financial speculation of Governor Belcher's time?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What are Tom Walker's first house and property like?

3. What do Tom and the devil negotiate about before striking a bargain, and what is the bargain they strike?

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

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

6. The devil lists several of his own nicknames for Tom; what pattern can be seen in these names, and what is its significance?

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Is Tom Walker a static or dynamic character? Write an essay in which you make a claim about whether or not Tom changes and what relationship this has to the theme of Irving's short story. Be sure to offer textual support for your claims.

Essay Topic 2

Washington Irving was devoted to the idea of the creation of a specifically American literature, separate from the European literature of the Old World. Write an essay in which you analyze how "The Devil and Tom Walker" fulfills this purpose.

Essay Topic 3

When Tom finally asks, aloud, for the devil to come and take him, it is seemingly an accident, just some poorly chosen words. Write an essay in which you defend the idea that actually, these words are a perfect encapsulation of Tom Walker's behavior throughout his life. Be sure to offer textual support for your claims.

(see the answer keys)

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