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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. Who, in Chapter 5, is referred to as "the figure, the body, the reality of sin?"

2. Against whom is Hawthorne alleged to harbor a "peculiar malevolence"?

3. How does the narrator describe the former queen of England, Elizabeth I?

4. What are the "delicate gems" referred to at the end of Chapter 1?

5. Where is Hester when she and Pearl are examined by the doctor?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Pearl react to other children?

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

3. Why does Dimmesdale not see through Chillingworth and understand his true (nefarious) agenda, according to the narrator in Chapter 10?

4. What does Hawthorne promise to "alter or expunge"?

5. What happens to Hester when the jailer introduces Chillingworth?

6. How does Dimmesdale respond to his growing guilt? How does he punish himself?

7. Describe the clothing worn by the "throng of bearded men" at the beginning of Chapter 1.

8. Why is "The Leech" an appropriate and significant name for this chapter?

9. Describe the door to the jail.

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Hawthorne plays with the notion of a happy ending near the end of the novel, teasing the reader with the notion that Dimmesdale and Hester might indeed live out a happily-ever-after ending. Consider the fates of the three major characters (Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth) and argue whether they experienced a happy ending or not. Be sure to use comparative analysis and textual examples.

Essay Topic 3

One theme of this novel is the competition between science and medicine on the one hand and religion on the other, particularly in terms of someone's physical well-being. Write an essay that describes the theme of sickness, health, and wellness (in terms of both the physical as well as the emotional/mental) that takes into account Hawthorne's dramatizing of a competition between science and medicine.

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