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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. Why, according to Pearl, does sunshine "run away and hide itself" from Hester?

2. What is the title of Chapter 18?

3. Who is the "grim, ugly-eyed old man" who recognizes Pearl?

4. Who is said to haunt the forest outside town, carrying a big, heavy book with him?

5. Who is mentioned in Chapter 13 as a "foundress of a religious sect?"

Short Essay Questions

1. Why, in Chapter 18, does Hester remove the scarlet letter and fling it into a brook?

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

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

4. Why does Hawthorne describe Pearl, in Chapter 19, as a "living hieroglyphic."

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. What, according to the narrator, enlivened the public holiday with "some diversity of hue?"

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

9. 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?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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.)

Essay Topic 2

On your first read, "The Custom House" seems to have little or nothing to do with the "real" narrative of The Scarlet Letter, the story of Hester Prynne, yet Hawthorne's introductory essay establishes his narrative voice and justifies the origins of Hester's story. Write an analytical essay that argues the importance of this introduction to the narrative structure of the book. Key terms to consider are: frame narrative, narrative voice/point-of-view, symbolism, public/private life, etc.

Essay Topic 3

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.

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