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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. What prominent wild plant grows just outside the door to the jail?
(a) A weeping willow.
(b) Lilacs.
(c) Dandelions.
(d) A rose bush.

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

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

5. What is the subtitle of "The Custom-House"?
(a) A Play in Four Acts.
(b) A Novel of Morals.
(c) Introductory to The Scarlet Letter.
(d) A Preface.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is NOT one of the possible crimes mentioned in this Chapter 2, as a reason people might flock to the prison?

2. Why does Hawthorne refuse to change what he has written?

3. Who is named as Hester's pastor in Chapter 2?

4. The title of Chapter 9 ("The Leech") refers to which character?

5. Why do most Puritans fast, according to the narrator?

Short Essay Questions

1. As the relationship between Chillingworth and Dimmesdale develops in Chapter 9, what do the townspeople begin to suspect about Dimmesdale and why?

2. What is Dimmesdale's argument for keeping Hester and Pearl together?

3. Why is Hester standing before the townsfolk in the beginning of the novel?

4. What are some examples of Chillingworth's growing power over Dimmesdale?

5. Why does Hawthorne decide to republish the offending introduction?

6. How is Chillingworth able to see what Dimmesdale is hiding on his body?

7. Describe the setting Hawthorne describes of the busy wharf.

8. What does Hawthorne say the purpose of the eagle is, which hangs in front of the building?

9. Why does Hawthorne say that it is ironic that Pearl is such a beautiful child, in Chapter 6?

10. How does Hawthorne describe the inhabitants of Boston?

(see the answer keys)

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