View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Hawthorne writes of his surprise and what in the first lines of the preface?

2. What color is Hester's hair?

3. Who is with the governor when Hester visits his house to deliver something?

4. Who is described as a/an "intolerant brood?"

5. Whose name does the doctor want Hester to reveal?

Short Essay Questions

1. When Hester delivers gloves to the governor, what is the other reason for her going there?

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

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

4. What does Hester refuse to do during this chapter 3, despite pressure from her neighbors?

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

6. Describe the door to the jail.

7. How does Hawthorne describe the inhabitants of Boston?

8. Does Hawthorne, in the end, decide to change anything?

9. What kind of plant stands outside the prison, offering a contrast in color and form? Describe what the narrator says about it.

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Hester Prynne is a single mother in Puritan New England. Explain and analyze the way Hawthorne characterizes her, using specific examples of his technique, as well as the way he dramatizes her psychology. Be sure to consider the choices Hester makes/is forced to make throughout the novel. Is Hester a strong character or a weak one? What do you think of the way she has conducted herself? Back up your arguments with specific textual examples.

Essay Topic 2

Offer a compare and contrast essay about the two major male characters in this book, Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth. Be sure to include analytical description of their looks and physical aspects, their emotional states, their motivations, and their conduct.

Essay Topic 3

Community pressure to fit in and conform plays a major role in this narrative, particularly as compared to individual desires, either simply for individuality of expression or desires for things that are not sanctioned by the community. Write an essay that explains how Hawthorne dramatizes the tension between the pressure to conform on one hand and the risk of social stigma on the other. (You may want to pick a character that represents each, as a way to begin this analysis.)

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 813 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample