Devil and Tom Walker

What does Irving use to symbolize hypocrisy and hidden evil?

• The devil's deal with Tom

• Mrs. Walker's heart and liver, wrapped in the checked apron

• The flourishing trees that are rotten to the core

• The Walker's silver teapots and spoons

What enabled you to predict that the figure that appears to Tom in the forest is the devil?

• He appears when Tom kicks a skull

• He has large red eyes

• He has a hoarse, growling voice

• Tom is instantly frightened

Tom's wife decides to go into the forest because she---

• wants to escape from Tom's unkindness

• decides to make her own deal with the devil

• gets lost on her way to the market

• wants to pick some herbs and wild mushrooms for their meager meal

Which item best contributes to the story's mood?

• "....stepping from tuft to tuft of rushes and roots..."

• "At length he arrived at the firm piece of ground, which ran like a peninsula into the deep bosom of the swamp."

• "The swamp was thickly grown with great gloomy pines and hemlocks...which makes it dark at noonday..."

• "Nothing remained of the old Indian fort but a few embankments, gradually sinking to the level of the surrounding earth."

Like Tom Walker, no doubt you weren't surprised by the appearance of the devil. You were prepared because you knew that Tom--

• had read or heard about other people meeting the devil

• had met the devil before

• is the kind of man who is not surprised by anything

• took the shortcut in order to meet the devil

The narrator describes the devil’s face as “begrimed with soot, as if he had been accustomed to toil among fires and forges.” Irving most likely chose this imagery because

• he wanted to contrast Tom and the devil.

• people know this is what the devil looks like.

• it increases the dark mood of the scene.

• his readers can identify with a life of toil.

What convinces Tom that what the devil has told him in the swamp is true?

• the disappearance of Tom's wife

• the discovery of Kidd's treasure

• Absalom Crowninshield's death

• Tom's growing business

Tom is so successful at working for the devil because Tom

• is greedier than the devil.

• is the only moneylender in Boston.

• knows a lot about lending money.

• is known for his bargain with the devil.

Tom begins praying and reading the Bible because he

• finds good friends who love him.

• wants to escape the devil.

• feels bad about cheating people.

• thinks God can give him more money.

What does the devil do to Tom at the end of the tale?

• hides Tom's wealth in the woods

• encourages Tom's faith in God

• meets Tom at the church

• carries Tom away on a horse