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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. Hepzibah is whose sister?

2. What does Ned Higgins want to buy?

3. Which of the following best describes Phoebe?

4. Which of the following best describes the Maules?

5. What does Clifford eventually do his first evening at the House?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

7. What did Maule do right before he died?

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

9. Explain who Clifford is and describe his homecoming.

10. What were the Maules like as a family?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay discussing the importance of the old portrait of Colonel Pyncheon. How does the presence of the portrait influence the events and the atmosphere of the House? Why is its placement important? What does the portrait symbolize?

Essay Topic 2

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 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)

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