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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. Hester is a self-ordained what?

2. What facial expression of Chillingworth displays his true malice, which the narrator calls "his blackness" in Chapter 14?

3. Where does Dimmesdale hold his hand often throughout the novel?

4. Which of the following creatures is not mentioned while Pearl plays on the shore?

5. Who is said to ride "with Satan through the air?"

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. 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?

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

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

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

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

8. Why do Hester and Pearl gather with other townspeople at the beginning of Chapter 21?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Hawthorne's preface to this novel claims that he has gotten himself in trouble for an unflattering portrait of the Customs Inspector, yet nonetheless, the novel features many real historical people anyway. Take up one of these real historical persons (for example, Governor Bellingham or Mistress Hibbins) and offer a descriptive analysis of their role in the narrative. How does Hawthorne characterize these real historical people? To what dramatic purposes or fictional ends does he put them alongside the invented characters? Be sure to consider the role these minor characters play in the historical setting of this novel.

Essay Topic 2

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 3

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.

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