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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What, in Chapter 13, "glimmers" with an "unearthly ray"?

2. According to the narrator, which of the following has NOT been one of Hester's "teachers"?

3. Who, in the procession, "exhibited such energy as was seen in the gait and air"?

4. What does Dimmesdale tell Chillingworth while he is writing the sermon is Chapter 20?

5. Which of the following is NOT used by the narrator to describe Pearl in Chapter 21?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 13, Hawthorne says that some people would think that Hester's scarlet letter stands for "Able." Why?

2. According to the narrator, what appeared to be Dimmesdale's subject, in his sermon in Chapter 23?

3. In Chapter 16, Hester changes her story to Pearl about the significance of the scarlet letter. What does she say about the letter in Chapter 16?

4. Why does Hester's heart sink when she sees Dimmesdale in the procession during the public holiday?

5. Why does Hester say that Dimmesdale should travel somewhere, "whether in some remote village or in vast London, [...] in Germany, in France," etc?

6. Many people pass Dimmesdale by in this chapter; why are so many people up so late and walking about?

7. What kinds of thoughts occur to Dimmesdale when he sees a deacon on the way home in Chapter 20 and why?

8. How does the narrator describe the public officials in Chapter 22, many of whom were real historical figures (figures such as Bradstreet, Endicott, etc.)?

9. In Chapter 14, what does Hester ask of Chillingworth?

10. What, according to the narrator, enlivened the public holiday with "some diversity of hue?"

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The final chapter offers three explanations for the bloody "A" etched on Dimmesdale's chest. Explain what each of the three possibilities are, according to the narrator, and answer the following questions: Why does Hawthorne chose to leave the reason ambiguous? What does this ambiguity offer to the reader or to the narrative? If you were Hawthorne, would you have made the same choice, and why? And finally, which of the three explanations do you mind most likely, and why? Be sure to answer in terms of this narrative.

Essay Topic 2

This novel relies on symbolism to tell its story of psychological torment. Pick several of the major symbols or symbolic systems at work in the novel, describe them in terms of Hawthorne's fictional technique and offer an interpretation of their symbolic meaning on multiple levels.

Essay Topic 3

Offer a compare and contrast essay about the two major male characters in this book, Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth. Be sure to include analytical description of their looks and physical aspects, their emotional states, their motivations, and their conduct.

(see the answer keys)

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