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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 is financial speculation?

2. Why does the narrator say that only Tom Walker would have the nerve to stop at the Native stronghold in the sawmp?

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

4. What news does Tom's wife have for him when he returns from the swamp?

5. When Tom opens the apron, what does he find inside?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What are some of the details of the plants and animals in the swamp, and what do they signify?

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

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

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

6. Describe the setting where Tom meets the devil.

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay in which you explore the casual racism of Irving's short story "The Devil and Daniel Walker." Describe the elements of the story that are racist and explain the irony in this racism, given the stand that Irving takes against the slave trade. Be sure to use quoted 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

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.

(see the answer keys)

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