View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. The swamp is full of quagmires. What does this mean it is full of?

2. Whose clothing does the devil's clothing resemble?

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

4. Why does Tom's wife go into the swamp, looking for the devil?

5. How does Tom seal his bargain with the devil?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. What is similar about Tom's fancy house and his religious behavior?

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

5. What implicit racism is there in the description of the fort that once stood in the swamp?

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

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

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

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. What does Tom believe is in the apron, and how does he feel when he sees it?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What does this short story seem to suggest about the religious atmosphere of Puritan New England? Write an essay with a thesis that takes into the consideration both positive and negative aspects of the religious life of the story's characters. Be sure to offer textual support for your claims.

Essay Topic 2

What is the implicit point of view about women that this story offers? Consider the descriptions and actions of Tom's wife, the devil's treatment of Tom's wife, and the narrator's comments about women. Be sure to offer textual support for your claims.

Essay Topic 3

In their time, Washington Irving stories like "The Devil and Tom Walker" were considered to be a kind of horror story. Write an essay in which you identify the elements of horror in this story and discuss how they do or do not succeed in creating a feeling of dread in a modern audience. Be sure to offer textual support for your claims.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 947 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample