View a FREE sample

This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is true of Rip's children in the beginning of the story?
(a) They are dangerously unsupervised.
(b) They are somewhat neglected.
(c) They are much more like their mother than like Rip.
(d) They refuse to speak to him.

2. Where is the village that Rip lives in?
(a) On the island of Manhattan.
(b) At the foot of the Catskill Mountains.
(c) On the Atlantic coast.
(d) At the foot of the Appalachian Mountains.

3. Where does Rip spend time with his friends?
(a) Fishing in the Hudson River.
(b) Hunting in the woods.
(c) Inside the bar of a local hotel.
(d) On a bench outside the village inn.

4. Why does Rip stop spending time with his friends?
(a) His wife tells him he cannot spend time with them anymore.
(b) His friends decide that he is too lazy to be friends with.
(c) His wife yells at them constantly.
(d) His friends move away to a bigger town.

5. When on page 31, the narrator refers to Rip's wife's nagging as a "torrent of household eloquence," what tone is created?
(a) Ironic.
(b) Maudlin.
(c) Farcical.
(d) Nostalgic.

6. How does Rip's wife treat his dog?
(a) She treats the dog better than anyone else in the family.
(b) She treats the dog the same way she treats Rip.
(c) She ignores the dog completely.
(d) She insists that the dog stay outside and earn its keep on the farm.

7. On page 29, the mountains are said to be "lording it over the surrounding country." This is an example of which literary technique?
(a) Synechdoche.
(b) Personification.
(c) Hyperbole.
(d) Onomatopoeia.

8. On page 29, the setting sun causes something to light up and glow "like a crown of glory." This is an example of what literary technique?
(a) Understatement.
(b) Metaphor.
(c) Simile.
(d) Alliteration.

9. Who is the frame narrator of "Rip Van Winkle"?
(a) James Fenimore Cooper.
(b) Diedrich Knickerbocker.
(c) Washington Irving.
(d) Geoffrey Crayon.

10. On page 30, the reader is told that Rip has an "insuperable aversion to all kinds of profitable labour." What does this mean is true about him?
(a) He is simply lazy.
(b) He is eager to work at anything that will help himself, but he does not like to help others.
(c) He is physically unable to do heavy labor.
(d) He hates working hard for his own material comfort and financial security.

11. What is Rip's dog's name?
(a) Wolf.
(b) Bear.
(c) Dutch.
(d) Dog.

12. On page 30, the reader learns that Rip is "obsequious" and his wife is a "termagant." What can accurately be said about their relationship?
(a) One is embarrassed by the other.
(b) They have violent arguments with each other.
(c) They each have a skill that helps the other.
(d) One bullies the other.

13. In the frame narrative, the reader is told that the main story's narrator gets his information from the wives of the "burghers" (28). Whose wives are these?
(a) The wives of political officials.
(b) The wives of country farmers.
(c) The wives of prominent Dutch colonists.
(d) The wives of local indigenous leaders.

14. What evidence does the frame narrator give that the main story's narrator is still well-liked?
(a) There is a children's rope-skipping rhyme about him.
(b) His portrait is hung in many local schools.
(c) His picture is stamped onto new year's cakes.
(d) There is a street in New York named after him.

15. Who is "Dame" Van Winkle?
(a) Rip's sister.
(b) Rip's daughter.
(c) Rip's wife.
(d) Rip's mother.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is Derrick Van Brummel?

2. Who is Peter Stuyvesant?

3. What kind of relationship does Rip have with the village children?

4. Who is the author of "Rip Van Winkle"?

5. After he can no longer spend time with his friends, where does Rip start going to spend time away from his home and farm?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 687 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample