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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. Why, according to Pearl, does sunshine "run away and hide itself" from Hester?
(a) Because of the foliage.
(b) Because of her fair skin.
(c) Because of her long gray dress.
(d) Because of the scarlet letter.

2. Whom does Dimmesdale set out to meet?
(a) Disciple Ellison.
(b) Apostle Eliot.
(c) Disciple Adrian.
(d) Apostle Elias.

3. What does Hester threaten to do at the end of Chapter 14?
(a) Escape Boston.
(b) Reveal the name of her lover.
(c) Kill herself.
(d) Betray Chillingworth's identity.

4. What is Dimmesdale's "own red stigma"?
(a) A scarlet letter he wears underneath his jacket.
(b) An "A" carved in his chest.
(c) His guilt.
(d) Pearl.

5. In Chapter 14, the narrator symbolized the truth by what?
(a) "A tall white pedestal."
(b) "A fletched arrow."
(c) "A red-hot iron."
(d) "A mysterious maze."

Short Answer Questions

1. Dimmesdale learns that he is preach what important sermon?

2. Who in the audience taunts Hester and Pearl at the appearance of Dimmesdale?

3. Which of the following is NOT an explanation for Dimmesdale's "red stigma"?

4. With what kind of natural objects has Pearl decorated herself in Chapter 18?

5. What is the title of Chapter 14?

Short Essay Questions

1. Many people pass Dimmesdale by in this chapter; why are so many people up so late and walking about?

2. In Chapter 15, when Pearl asks Hester what the letter stands for, what does Hester reply?

3. When Dimmesdale refuses to travel and quit his post as minister, how does Hester change his mind?

4. In Chapter 14, why is Chillingworth in the woods?

5. Why does Chillingworth attempt to stop Hester and Pearl from joining Dimmesdale on the scaffold?

6. Why will Hester and Dimmesdale have to head back to Europe, instead of moving somewhere more rural or remote?

7. What kinds of thoughts occur to Dimmesdale when he sees a deacon on the way home in Chapter 20 and why?

8. Why does Hester say that Dimmesdale should travel somewhere, "whether in some remote village or in vast London, [...] in Germany, in France," etc?

9. How does Pearl decorate herself at the end of Chapter 18 differently from how she did in the woods when Hester met Chillingworth?

10. How does the narrator describe the public officials in Chapter 22, many of whom were real historical figures (figures such as Bradstreet, Endicott, etc.)?

(see the answer keys)

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