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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 does Holgrave suggest about the Judge?

2. What becomes of the cousin of the convicted murderer?

3. Who comes to the shop window after Phoebe has visited the garden the first time?

4. What initial impression does Phoebe have of the Judge?

5. What story does the Judge tell Phoebe?

Short Essay Questions

1. After the Colonel's death, what happened to the Pyncheon family?

2. Describe how Phoebe comes to stay at the House.

3. Describe Holgrave and Uncle Venner.

4. Who is Hepzibah Pyncheon and why does she run a shop out of the house?

5. What do Hepzibah's feelings towards the Judge seem to be?

6. Describe the Puritan-era legal battle over the land the house sits on.

7. Who built the House of the Seven Gables? Why is this ironic?

8. What does the Judge try to do?

9. Explain who Clifford is and describe his homecoming.

10. What tragedies soon afflicted the Pyncheon family?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay that explores the narrator as a character in the novel. Is the narrator Hawthorne himself or a separate character telling us the story? How does Hawthorne use the narrator to communicate his own attitudes towards the issues and characters in the novel?

Essay Topic 2

Natural details in the novel play a small but noteworthy part in developing the setting and supporting the themes. Write an essay on the importance of natural elements, including the tree, the garden and the posies.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay exploring the relationships among the characters in the house. Consider Hepzibah's, Phoebe's, Clifford's and Holgrave's relationships with one another, whether these relationships are implicit or explicit, and why these relationships are important.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 815 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample