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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 Dupin tell Edmund about Mr. Arnold?
(a) He is Edmund's step-father.
(b) He is Edmund's aunt's murderer.
(c) He is Edmund's father.
(d) He is Edmund's mother's murderer.

2. What is in the prologue of Poe's story?
(a) The same prologue that begins Edmund's story.
(b) A note to Mrs. Whitman.
(c) The beginning of Poe's life.
(d) An apology to Edward for his behavior.

3. What does Dupin use to decipher the encoded message Edmund found at Mrs. Whitman's house?
(a) The Gold Bug.
(b) The Murders in the Rue Morgue.
(c) The newspaper notices.
(d) The Raven.

4. What does Dupin see from the bell tower?
(a) Edmund's home.
(b) The bank.
(c) The cemetery.
(d) The docks.

5. While his mother sleeps, what does Edmund ask Poe to do?
(a) Take care of his mother.
(b) Give him money for food.
(c) Help him find his sister.
(d) Write a happier ending to his story.

Short Answer Questions

1. When they return to Edmund's room after Edmund is attacked, what does Dupin tell Edmund to find?

2. What does Mrs. Whitman ask Dupin to do in front of her guests?

3. What does Edmund buy at the tavern for himself and his mother?

4. With whom is Dupin's second encounter at the cemetery?

5. What does Edmund see on the tavern wall?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the final chase scene in Chapter 21 differ from the rest of the novel?

2. Why do you think Edmund makes the final decision to tear up Poe's story before going to the docks to rescue Sis?

3. Why do you think the author uses the circular technique of starting Poe's story in a way that is identical to the start of the novel?

4. What is the importance of the guests' discussion of whether it is possible to read a man's character from his face?

5. Why do you think Dupin decides that his work is done after summing up the details of the solved mystery in Chapter 17?

6. If you were Edmund, how do you feel about Poe's assertion that Sis lives on longer in Poe's story than she does in real life?

7. What does Dupin mean in Chapter 14 when he tells Edmund that "the story is over"?

8. How does Edmund's character change by Chapter 18, compared to the Prologue?

9. Why do both Dupin and Edmund frequently believe they have seen ghosts?

10. Why do you think the author has Edmund's mother demand both the divorce and her money, rather than just being satisfied with a divorce, when she first encounters her husband?

(see the answer keys)

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