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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. Dimmesdale's voice is compared to what natural phenomenon in Chapter 23?
(a) Swelling waves of the sea.
(b) Surging wind of the coast.
(c) Twisting branches of a dead oak.
(d) Patter of raindrops on the roof.

2. What does Pearl do when Dimmesdale kisses her?
(a) She wipes it on Hester's scarlet letter.
(b) She washes it off.
(c) She laughs.
(d) She kisses him back.

3. What suggests that Pearl will have a child of her own at the end of the novel?
(a) Pearl's stomach is large.
(b) Hester is sewing infant clothes.
(c) Pearl has gotten married quickly.
(d) Hester calls herself "Grandma Hester."

4. What is the title of Chapter 20?
(a) "The Minister in a Maze."
(b) "The Minister in the Mirror."
(c) "The Minister in the Middle."
(d) "The Mysterious Minister."

5. John Wilson is described as having what relationship to Dimmesdale?
(a) One of his holy fathers.
(b) One of his clerical brethern.
(c) One of his fatherly teachers.
(d) One of his mystical mates.

Short Answer Questions

1. Despite his triumph in delivering the sermon in Chapter 23, how does Dimmesdale appear?

2. What had Dimmesdale been doing to himself?

3. Who are the "rough-looking desperadoes, with sun-blackened faces" at the holiday in Chapter 21?

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

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

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the three suspected causes of the "A" carved into Dimmesdale's chest.

2. How does Hawthorne describe Dimmesdale, either physically or emotionally, at the beginning of Chapter 13?

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

4. In Chapter 16, Hester changes her story to Pearl about the significance of the scarlet letter. What does she say about the letter in Chapter 16?

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

6. What does Pearl do with the seaweed she finds, and what does it show about her as a character?

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

8. In Chapter 13, Hawthorne says that some people would think that Hester's scarlet letter stands for "Able." Why?

9. Why, at the end of the book, is Hester making a baby garment?

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

(see the answer keys)

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