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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. For what crime has Clifford been convicted?

2. What might have prevented the Pyncheons from losing their fortune?

3. What has Hepzibah refused to accept?

4. What does Holgrave suggest about the Judge?

5. At the story’s opening, how many members of the Pyncheon family are left living?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What does the Judge try to do?

3. Describe Holgrave and Uncle Venner.

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

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

6. Describe some of the "eerie" qualities of the House.

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

8. Describe Phoebe's first visit to the garden.

9. How would you describe the House of Seven Gables?

10. Who is Phoebe and how does Hepzibah react to her arrival?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay exploring Hepzibah and Phoebe and their roles as women in their society. How do the expectations and customs of nineteenth century new England influence their options and choices? How do these factors influence the events of the novel?

Essay Topic 2

Holgrave’s daguerreotypes play important roles at specific points in the narrative. Write an essay that explores the significance of the old photographs, how Hawthorne uses them and how they help develop the themes in the novel.

Essay Topic 3

Colonel Pyncheon and the older Matthew Maule lived on different socioeconomic classes, and this class difference helped determine the fates of both families. Write an essay explaining the importance of class differences in the novel through the Pyncheon and Maule ancestors as well as the novel’s contemporary characters.

(see the answer keys)

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