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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 Clifford say when he and Hepzibah try to go to church?

2. What does Holgrave decide to experiment with?

3. What happens to Phoebe while Holgrave is reading his story?

4. What does Clifford enjoy watching from the arched windows?

5. Why does Clifford want to hold the roses?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is Phoebe changing, and why?

2. How does Phoebe contribute?

3. What does Holgrave experiment with?

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

5. What does Holgrave offer to read to Phoebe?

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

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

8. What happens during the political rally?

9. What was the impact of Maule's hypnotism on Alice?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay that explores character changes throughout the novel. Which characters undergo important changes and are these changes a function of direct or indirect characterization? Why are these character shifts important? How do they help develop themes or motifs in the novel?

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay discussing how the novel develops the motif of stability vs. transience, or tradition vs. modernity. Which characters symbolize which side of this opposition? How does this motif help develop the themes in the novel? What is Hawthorne trying to convey with this motif?

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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