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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. What are the spikes on the door to the jail made of?
2. Chose which of the following best describes the tone in the last sentence of Chapter 1?
3. What does Pearl desperately desire from the governor's garden?
4. What is the name of the grave-yard Hawthorne mentions in his discussion of his ancestors?
5. Who was the father of the Custom-House?
Short Essay Questions
1. What does the governor think about Hester as a mother?
2. Describe the clothing worn by the "throng of bearded men" at the beginning of Chapter 1.
3. What does Hawthorne find alongside the scarlet letter?
4. Why does Hawthorne say that it is ironic that Pearl is such a beautiful child, in Chapter 6?
5. What kind of skill does Hester use to support herself?
6. How does Hawthorne describe the inhabitants of Boston?
7. Why does Hester stay in town after she is released from jail in Chapter 5?
8. In Chapter 2, why might it be Mistress Hibbins who would be in the jail?
9. What is Hawthorne's emotional state in the preface?
10. What kind of plant stands outside the prison, offering a contrast in color and form? Describe what the narrator says about it.
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
A source of psychological conflict in this novel is the relationship between Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth. Using textual examples, write an descriptive analysis of how Hawthorne 1) establishes this relationship, and 2) uses the relationship to develop conflict and drive the engine of the plot. You should be sure to include examples that demonstrate how this relationship intensifies conflict at various spots in the novel.
Essay Topic 2
The mood and tone of this work is dark, which is largely achieved through its setting in Puritan New England. Discuss the various ways Hawthorne achieves the uncanny mood and tone in this novel, including but not limited to: his use of witchcraft and the supernatural, his use of light/dark imagery, his use of "Nature" and natural objects, etc.
Essay Topic 3
Despite the dark tone and dour mood of this novel, Hawthorne's narrative voice does offer some levity, irony and humor to lighten the mood at key points in this novel, including the irony in some of the chapter titles. Pick several examples of this irony, other forms of irony, archness/humor, and explain how these examples help lighten the mood.
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This section contains 757 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) |
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