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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What mark does the devil leave on Tom?
(a) A black fingerprint.
(b) A red mark in the shape of an axe.
(c) An upside-down cross.
(d) A claw mark.

2. According to the narrator, why does Tom not immediately agree to the devil's bargain?
(a) What the devil wants from Tom is a serious thing that Tom wants to think over.
(b) Tom still does not believe that he is talking to the devil.
(c) Tom is afraid that his wife will just take the money and hide it.
(d) The devil is not offering Tom enough money.

3. Why does Tom decide that he will not agree to the devil's bargain?
(a) Because he does not want to risk his soul.
(b) Because it will please his wife if he does it.
(c) Because he believes that the devil will try to trick him.
(d) Because his wife convinces him to ask for more money.

4. To what does the narrator compare the sound of Tom's carriage wheels?
(a) The clinking of coins.
(b) The souls of his clients.
(c) The laughter of the devil.
(d) The creaking of the trees in the swamp.

5. What does Tom see near the apron, keeping watch over it?
(a) A snake.
(b) An alligator.
(c) A black cat.
(d) A vulture.

6. What makes the item on Tom's desk ironic?
(a) The nature of Tom's enemy.
(b) Tom's job.
(c) Tom's superstition.
(d) The use of the item later in the story.

7. What is one unusual physical feature of the devil?
(a) He has horns.
(b) He smells of sulfur.
(c) He has red eyes.
(d) His voice is like a snake's hiss.

8. What is financial speculation?
(a) Buying something with the hope that it will rapidly increase in value.
(b) Illegal investing by people with inside information.
(c) A group of expert opinions about the economy.
(d) A joking term for illegal gambling.

9. What happens to all of Tom's money and property at the end of the story?
(a) The town elders donate it to the church.
(b) Tom's cheated clients divide it among themselves.
(c) A mysterious man appears, claiming to be Tom's heir.
(d) Everything changes into ash, bone, and wood shavings.

10. Where does Tom open his business?
(a) Boston.
(b) New York.
(c) Salem.
(d) Washington.

11. Who is said to have been present when the treasure was buried?
(a) The devil.
(b) Tom Walker.
(c) A whaler.
(d) Geoffery Crayon.

12. What does the devil say is one way he currently entertains himself?
(a) By helping the Puritans persecute other Christians.
(b) By encouraging war between Natives and Europeans.
(c) By tempting anabaptists into sin.
(d) By making deals for the souls of Puritans.

13. What does the narrator say that savin trees symbolize?
(a) Sterility.
(b) Hypocrisy.
(c) Greed.
(d) Anger.

14. Why does Tom's wife go into the swamp, looking for the devil?
(a) She wants to argue for more money.
(b) She wants to tell the devil to stay away from her husband.
(c) She does not believe Tom and wants to see for herself.
(d) She wants to strike the bargain with him herself.

15. In the version of the story that the narrator says is most likely to be true, what draws Tom's attention to the tree where his wife's apron hangs?
(a) The tree is encircled with snakes.
(b) The sound of crows calling.
(c) Her name scratched into the bark of the tree.
(d) An eerie red light.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which city is close to the setting of "The Devil and Tom Walker"?

2. To whom does Tom think the forested swampland belongs?

3. To what does the narrator metaphorically compare the financial speculation of Governor Belcher's time?

4. What unusual slang word does the devil use for money?

5. Which of the following does the devil say is the name he goes by in their area?

(see the answer keys)

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