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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. By what name does Tom call the devil?

2. What does the narrator say is hard to believe about the conversation between Tom and the devil?

3. What does the devil have all over his skin?

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

5. On what land feature did the old Native stronghold stand?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

5. What is the reaction of the Walkers' neighbors to their fighting?

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

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

8. Explain how Tom develops into a religious hypocrite.

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

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 3

Throughout the story, Irving mentions a large number of professions. Write an essay in which you explain the pattern behind Irving's treatment of these professions. Which seem to be most openly condemned, which seem to be criticized by implication, and which seem to escape criticism entirely--if any? Be sure to offer textual support for your claims.

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