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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Against whom is Hawthorne alleged to harbor a "peculiar malevolence"?
(a) The Custom's Inspector.
(b) The Governot.
(c) His editor.
(d) Hester Prynne.

2. What distinguishes the men in the "throng" at the beginning of thChapter 1?
(a) They are bald.
(b) They are fat.
(c) They are ministers.
(d) They are bearded.

3. The title of Chapter 4, "The Interview," refers to the meeting between which two characters?
(a) Chillingworth and Dimmesdale.
(b) Hester and Chillingworth.
(c) Chillingworth and Bellingham.
(d) Hester and Dimmesdale.

4. Chapter 6 is named after which character?
(a) Dimmesdale.
(b) Chillingworth.
(c) Hester.
(d) Pearl.

5. What quiets Pearl in this when she wants something from the governor's garden?
(a) Her nanny.
(b) Her obedience to Hester.
(c) The gardener gives her what she wants.
(d) The appearance of the governor.

6. Who is NOT among the crowd shaming Hester?
(a) Hester's parents.
(b) The judges.
(c) Hester's pastor.
(d) The governor.

7. The following description of clothing belongs to which community leader: "a dark feather in his hat, a border of embroidery on his cloak, and a black velvet tunic beneath"?
(a) Wilson.
(b) Dimmesdale.
(c) Bellingham.
(d) Lee.

8. This preface is the preface to which edition of the novel?
(a) The first.
(b) The second.
(c) The fourth.
(d) The third.

9. Who is with the governor when Hester visits his house to deliver something?
(a) Wilson and Dimmesdale.
(b) Lee, Chillingworth, and Dimmesdale.
(c) Wilson, Dimmesdale and Chillingworth.
(d) Dimmesdale, Chillingworth and Hibbins.

10. Which character is described as having a "wildflower prettiness?"
(a) Pearl.
(b) Hibbins.
(c) Hester.
(d) Chillingworth.

11. How old is the baby in Hester's arms when we first see her?
(a) Three days.
(b) Three months.
(c) A week.
(d) Six months.

12. What symbol of the United States hands in front of the Custom-House?
(a) An eagle.
(b) Uncle Sam.
(c) Apple pie.
(d) The stars and stripes.

13. According to the narrator, what is the first thing that Pearl noticed, as a baby?
(a) Seashells.
(b) The scarlet letter.
(c) Her own curls.
(d) Hester's long black hair.

14. Which part of The Scarlet Letter does this preface specifically refer to?
(a) The climax.
(b) "The Custom-House."
(c) The denouement.
(d) "The New England Holiday,"

15. The title of Chapter 9 ("The Leech") refers to which character?
(a) Hester.
(b) Pearl.
(c) Chilingworth.
(d) Dimmesdale.

Short Answer Questions

1. The earliest parts of the colony had been the jail and what other location?

2. When Wilson asks Pearl who made her, what does she answer?

3. What prominent wild plant grows just outside the door to the jail?

4. Hawthorne writes of his surprise and what in the first lines of the preface?

5. How does the narrator describe the former queen of England, Elizabeth I?

(see the answer keys)

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