View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What development gives Phoebe more free time?

2. What is Uncle Venner always talking about?

3. What does Holgrave offer to Phoebe?

4. How does Phoebe’s presence influence Clifford?

5. In what way does Maule hope that Alice can help him?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the atmosphere of the House influence Phoebe?

2. What does Holgrave experiment with?

3. What did Phoebe do and what was the impact on the mood of the House?

4. How do Clifford and Hepzibah get along once Clifford is home?

5. What happens to cause Phoebe to have more leisure time, and how does she spend it?

6. How was young Matthew Maule already connected to the story of the House?

7. Describe Matthew Maule's demeanor when he came to the house.

8. In Holgrave's narrative, what was Gervais Pyncheon trying the find?

9. How is Clifford's homecoming both bitter and sweet?

10. How is Phoebe changing, and why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay that explores the importance of Maule’s curse. How is the curse fulfilled throughout the story? Is the curse real or do its apparent victims bring their misfortune upon themselves?

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 656 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample