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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. How does the devil say the Natives sacrificed a white man to him?

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

3. Why does it take Tom a long time to get through the swamp?

4. What is true of the tree with Deacon Peabody's name on it?

5. What does the narrator say that savin trees symbolize?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Tom's wife do as a result of his refusal to make a deal with the devil, and what is the outcome?

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

3. Describe the appearance of the devil in this story.

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

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

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

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

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

10. Describe the setting where Tom meets the devil.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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.

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

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.

(see the answer keys)

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