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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Where was Hester's "happy infancy and stainless maidenhood?"
(a) Bustling London.
(b) Salem.
(c) Amsterdam.
(d) Rural England.

2. Why do most Puritans fast, according to the narrator?
(a) To conserve food.
(b) To lose weight.
(c) To purify their bodies.
(d) To cure disease.

3. When Wilson asks Pearl who made her, what does she answer?
(a) That Hester had made her alone.
(b) That Dimmesdale is her father.
(c) That her mother had picked her off a rose bush.
(d) That a stork had delivered her.

4. One person suggest that Hester should have an iron brand burned where?
(a) On her cheek.
(b) On her chest.
(c) On her forehead.
(d) On the palms of her hands.

5. Chillingworth is described as which of the following in Chapter 11?
(a) Warlock.
(b) Spellcaster.
(c) Magician.
(d) Mage.

6. Who thinks that Hester's punishment/sentence is too light?
(a) The ministers.
(b) The women of town.
(c) The children of town.
(d) The men of town.

7. What does Hawthorne find in a "mysterious package" in the Custom-House?
(a) Dimmesdale's diary.
(b) A painting of Hester and Pearl.
(c) Hester's diary.
(d) The scarlet letter.

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

9. Which political party does Hawthorne belong?
(a) Whig.
(b) Tory.
(c) Bull Moose.
(d) Republican.

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

11. How does the narrator describe the former queen of England, Elizabeth I?
(a) Dainty.
(b) Iron-willed.
(c) Man-like.
(d) Feminine.

12. What, at the end of Chapter 11, is the "only truth" for Dimmesdale?
(a) "The anguish in his inmost soul."
(b) "The joy in his beating heart."
(c) "The malice in Chillingworth's eyes."
(d) "The mercy of almightly Heaven."

13. Where are Dimmesdale's parents?
(a) In Boston.
(b) In England.
(c) Dead.
(d) In Salem.

14. Hawthorne utterly disclaims what kind of motives?
(a) Personal, legal and moral.
(b) Spiritual and political.
(c) Personal and politcal.
(d) Petty and partisan.

15. How does Hester dress her daughter?
(a) In "infinite variety."
(b) In the "richest tissue."
(c) In "paler loveliness."
(d) In "rustic weeds."

Short Answer Questions

1. Chapter 6 is named after which character?

2. How does Hawthorne metaphorically refer to the United States government in "The Custom House"?

3. By what moniker does Hawthorne name the Custom-House building itself?

4. Which minister in the book has "a border of grizzled locks beneath his skull-cap" and gray eyes?

5. Who is described as a/an "intolerant brood?"

(see the answer keys)

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