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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 street does Edmund live on?

2. When Dupin identifies Rachett as Edmund's step-father, what does Edmund tell him about the reason his mother came to America?

3. Why are the children alone at the beginning of the story?

4. When Edmund and Mrs. Whitman first meet, where does Mrs. Whitman tell Edmund to have Dupin meet her?

5. What is the only item missing after Edmund's room is ransacked?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why do you think the author decided to set up a mystery in the style of Edgar Allan Poe?

2. What did Edgar Allan Poe do in his mystery stories that no one had done before, and how does this impact future mystery writers?

3. How do you think the character Dupin reflects the real-life Poe?

4. Do you think Edmund should have stopped to help the old man before returning home?

5. How does the locked-room mystery engage the reader?

6. Why do you think Edmund continues to trust Dupin, even after reading in Dupin's notebook in Chapter Nine that Dupin thinks his story should end with Sis' death?

7. Do you think the story would be as effective if it were set in a different time period?

8. What is the significance of the fact that both Edmund and Dupin have an important person in their lives whom they call Sis?

9. What is the significance of Edmund's direct accusation, in Chapter Nine, that Dupin has abandoned him?

10. How does the setting reflect Edmund's emotional state?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What do we learn about Poe from the style with which he approaches his courtship of Mrs. Whitman? Does he seem determined? Shy? Indifferent? How do you think this relates to the loss of his first wife?

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contract Edmund and Dupin/Poe. Use specific examples from the novel relating to their circumstances, life events, and reactions to these circumstances and events.

Essay Topic 3

Describe the process of Edmund's coming of age in the novel. What are the influences that trigger his development? How does he change from a helpless child to a brave, assertive rescuer?

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