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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Anna Corey wish her son had done instead of join Silas Lapham's paint business?
(a) Get married.
(b) Join the army.
(c) Take a European tour like Bromfield did in his youth.
(d) Write a novel.

2. What business idea does Tom Corey first propose to Silas Lapham in Chapter Six?
(a) Starting a branch of Lapham's company in Maine.
(b) A partnership in Lapham's company.
(c) Expanding into the construction business.
(d) Investing capital in Lapham's company.

3. In Chapter Three, who do Silas and Persis Lapham run into while visiting the construction site of their new home?
(a) Mr. Sewell.
(b) Persis Lapham's aged mother.
(c) Milton Rogers, Lapham's former partner.
(d) Bromfield Corey.

4. Why does Penelope Lapham think Tom Corey and Irene Lapham need to spend more time alone?
(a) She thinks they are in love and want more time alone.
(b) She needs the time alone with her own boyfriend.
(c) She wants Irene to get in trouble with their parents.
(d) She thinks it will help them figure out if they like each other.

5. Who do Mrs. Lapham and Penelope note that Tom Corey never mentions to either of them during his visits?
(a) Irene.
(b) Silas.
(c) Bromfield Corey.
(d) Mr. Sewell.

Short Answer Questions

1. In Chapter Two, who sends Persis Lapham a lithographed circular soliciting for donations to a charity?

2. What room does Irene tell Tom Corey the Laphams will have in their new Beacon Street home?

3. Where does Tom Corey visit his mother and sisters in Chapter Six?

4. Why do the Laphams come to believe their home in Boston is in an unfashionable neighborhood?

5. What does Silas Lapham tell Persis he doesn't like about Tom Corey?

Short Essay Questions

1. What information is revealed about Zerrilla Dewey in Chapter Eight and what does Walker the bookkeeper seem to imply about her relationship with Silas Lapham?

2. Describe how Silas Lapham gets into the paint business.

3. What is Lapham's childhood and family background, and how does this background shape his values?

4. What happens in Chapter Ten when Milton Rogers asks Silas Lapham for a loan, and how does Persis Lapham feel about the situation?

5. How does Penelope react to Tom Corey's visits in Chapter Eleven, and what does her behavior indicate?

6. Describe Tom Corey's discussion with his mother in Chapter Eight about his entering Silas Lapham's paint business.

7. Describe Lapham's financial situation in Chapter Nine.

8. Why do the Coreys consider themselves "better" than the Laphams, and what virtues does Silas Lapham possess that the Coreys do not?

9. What aspect of Tom Corey's life does Silas Lapham disapprove of, and what action does Lapham think it would take to improve Corey?

10. What is Anna Corey's reaction to her son's decision to go into the mineral paint business?

(see the answer keys)

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