The Man Who Was Poe Study Questions

The Man Who Was Poe – Study Questions

PLEASE: DO NOT WRITE ON THESE PAPERS. RESTATE THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWER ON YOUR OWN PAPER. THESE ANSWERS WILL BE COLLECTED AT THE END OF THE NOVEL FOR A GRADE.

Something about Edgar Allan Poe – (Biography – Non-fiction)

1. Where was Poe born?
2. When was Poe born?
3. What was Poe’s parents’ occupation?
4. Who did Poe live with during his childhood years?
5. Why did Poe have a bad reputation?
6. When Poe could not find a job, what did he do?
7. What happened to Poe during his time at West Point?
8. Where did Poe start to become a famous writer?
9. Who became like a mother to Poe?
10. What was Poe wife’s real name and nickname?
11. What was the name of Poe’s first detective story?
12. Who was the main character of Poe’s first detective story?
13. What poem made Poe America’s most famous writer, as well as bringing him international fame?
14. After his wife’s death, who did Poe start courting and also became engaged to in Providence, Rhode Island?
15. Poe died in 1849 in Baltimore, Maryland; how did he die?

The Man Who Was Poe - setting

1. Where does The Man Who Was Poe take place?
2. When does The Man Who Was Poe take place?

Prologue

1. Describe the Ann Street tenement.
2. Describe Edmund.
3. Describe Sis.
4. According to Edmund, where is Aunty?
5. Where did Edmund and Sis live before coming to America?
6. Why does Sis want Edmund to leave the tenement?
7. Why do you think Edmund is so worried about leaving?
8. What is Sis going to do while Edmund is gone?
9. What does the older man on the street ask Edmund to do for him?
10. Describe the older man.
11. What happens when Edmund returned to the tenement?
12. Predict: What do you think has happened to Sis?

Part One

Chapter 1 – “Might I Know Your Name?”

1. Describe the old city.
2. Describe the homeless man.
3. What does the homeless man do to earn money?
4. The homeless man at first thinks that a demon has struck him when Edmund bumps into him. What does this say about the man?
5. The homeless man has Edmund deliver a letter to whom?
6. What does the homeless man wonder about Edmund’s situation?
7. Predict: Who is Mr. Dupin?
8. What literary devises are used in the following excerpts?

(a) “A raw wind whipped the street lamps and made the gas flames hiss and flicker like snake tongues.”

(b) “Fingers of shadow leaped over sidewalks, clawing silently upon closely set wooden houses.”

(c) “Stray leaves, brittle and brown, rattled like dry bones along cold stone gutters.”

Chapter 2 – “Beneath a Cold November Moon”

1. What do Edmund and Sis do for fun?
2. Where does Mr. Dupin insist they go to look for Sis?
3. What does Edmund decide about Sis and Aunty?
4. What does Mr. Dupin find on the dock?
5. What does Mr. Dupin notice about the woman?
6. Describe Mr. Asa Throck.
7. Describe Mr. Fortnoy.
8. Why does Mr. Dupin call Edmund over to the body?
9. What is Edmund concerned about?
10. What literary devises are used in the following excerpt?

(a) “Silhouettes of silent ships, mostly sail, some steam, bobbed gently on the bay.”

Chapter 3 – “Steps in the Night”

1. Why does Mr. Dupin get upset about the name “Sis”?
2. Where does Mr. Dupin send Edmund?
3. What does Mr. Dupin begin to do after Edmund leaves?
4. Who does Edmund think is following him?
5. Who is actually following Edmund?
6. What was slid under the door to the tenement?

Chapter 4 – “Meddle at Your Peril!”

1. What does the note say?
2. Why did Edmund, Aunty, and Sis come to America?
3. When did their mother leave?
4. Why did Aunty think Mum was in America?
5. What did Poe discover about Edmund and Sis?
6. How does Poe think Sis left the room?

Chapter 5 – “An Old Man with White Hair”

1. What does Mr. Dupin find in the room?
2. What does Edmund find on the floor?
3. Why is it ironic (literary term) that Edmund mentioned the fairytale “Hansel and Gretel”?
4. How does Mr. Dupin think Sis ended up in the building next door?
5. How does Mr. Dupin get information from the elderly woman who owns the tenement next door?
6. What does Mr. Dupin find out about the rental of the room next door?
7. What explanation does Mr. Dupin give for Sis’s disappearance?
8. What information does the waiter give Mr. Dupin about another event that happened on the same night that Aunty was discovered?
9. What does Edmund think they should do about Sis and Aunty?
10. Where does Mr. Dupin send Edmund?

There will be a quiz over the videos of Poe and Avi, “Something about Edgar Allan Poe”, the Prologue, chapters 1 – 5, and all handouts given so far.

Study Questions are also due. Make sure you have restated the question and written in complete sentences. Please check capitalization, punctuation, spelling, etc.