Quiz: from Faust, Part 1
Multiple Choice
Identify the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
Comprehension
The questions below refer to the selection “from Faust, Part I.”
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
1. Who is Mephistopheles?
a. The devil
c. The Lord’s first lieutenant
b. A German king
d. Faust’s evil brother
2. Why does the Lord allow Mephistopheles to tempt Faust?
a. The Lord owes Mephistopheles a favor.
b. The Lord knows that Faust’s soul is already doomed to Hell.
c. The Lord believes people should struggle actively with temptation.
d. The Lord wants Faust to inspire Mephistopheles to change his evil ways.
3. Mephistopheles thinks that Faust is —
a. unfairly favored by the Lord
c. incapable of living a life of pleasure
b. uninterested in life’s mysteries
d. dissatisfied as a seeker of knowledge
4. What does Faust hope to gain from his pact with Mephistopheles?
a. To accumulate great material wealth
b. To acquire superhuman athletic powers
c. To learn things no other human has known
d. To live an easy life and experience a gentle death
5. Faust swears that he will lose the wager and die if he —
a. experiences pain or despair
b. asks the Lord to intervene on his behalf
c. becomes content and wants to rest in pleasure
d. does not finish his quest in five years and a day
6. Why does Faust dislike the idea of a written contract?
a. The Lord has told him to avoid all written contracts.
b. Faust knows that an oral contract is easy to break.
c. Mephistopheles wrote the contract without Faust’s help.
d. Faust prides himself on being a man who keeps his word.
7. Mephistopheles wants Faust to sign the contract —
a. with a drop of blood
c. while kneeling in submission
b. in front of the archangels
d. after showing the document to the Lord
8. Faust despises human knowledge because it does not teach —
a. the meaning of life
c. the path to great riches
b. how to rule over others
d. how to overcome illness
9. Faust’s first request of Mephistopheles is to —
a. give him power over Germany
b. grant him eternal life and health
c. bring him a golden carriage and six horses
d. help him explore the limits of human experience
10. What does Mephistopheles think would have happened if Faust had not made the agreement?
a. Faust would have died a painful death.
b. Faust would have been cursed anyway.
c. Faust would have become an angel of the Lord.
d. Faust would have eventually achieved his goal.
Literary Focus: Characterization
The questions below refer to the selection “from Faust, Part I.”
____ 11. How does Mephistopheles characterize Faust to the Lord?
a. As a man wiser than most humans
b. As a fool who does not serve the Lord well
c. As a man who wants to serve his fellow men
d. As a teacher who will lead his students to evil
____ 12. The Lord characterizes Faust as a —
a. weak man who is afraid of death
c. lost soul who will never reach Heaven
b. good man who knows the right path
d. kind teacher who cares about his students
Reading Skills: Evaluating a Character’s Actions
The questions below refer to the selection “from Faust, Part I.”
____ 13. Why does Faust make a pact with Mephistopheles?
a. He wants to attain limitless knowledge.
b. He doesn’t understand the risks to his life.
c. He intends to show that he is superior to others.
d. He has tried to live a good life and now wants to live an evil life.
____ 14. Why does Faust begin his experiment with Mephistopheles by seeking “The most painful joy, enamored hate,
enlivening / Disgust”?
a. He is tired of life and wants to suffer and die.
b. He has never experienced joy, hate, or disgust before.
c. He hopes passion will teach him what knowledge could not.
d. He thinks that these experiences will prepare him for Heaven.
Matching
Vocabulary Development
The questions below refer to the selection “from Faust, Part I."
Use the following list of Vocabulary words to complete the sentences. You will use one of the words twice.
a. fervent
c. pedant
b. prevaricate
d. eschew
____
____
____
____
____
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
Faust’s _______________ desires lead him to take great risks.
The doctor decides to _______________ a safe path in order to reach his goal.
Do Faust’s students consider him a good teacher or a(n) _______________?
Faust is distrustful of Mephistopheles and tells him not to _______________.
Mephistopheles has a(n) _______________ wish to win the wager.
Essay
Constructed Response
The question below refers to the selection “from Faust, Part I.”
20. Write a brief analysis of Faust’s character. In what way does his character change? Is his character revealed
through direct characterization, indirect characterization, or both? Use details from the selection to support
your answer.