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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 color is the letter A Pearl fashions for herself out of natural objects ?

2. In what month does this "obscure night" take place in Chapter 12?

3. Hester is a self-ordained what?

4. Where is the ship the Spanish Main sailing?

5. According to Hester in Chapter 16, where does she tell Pearl she got the scarlet letter?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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. Describe the three suspected causes of the "A" carved into Dimmesdale's chest.

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

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

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

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

9. Where does Dimmesdale go at the beginning of Chapter 12, and why?

10. Why does Hester's heart sink when she sees Dimmesdale in the procession during the public holiday?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

This novel relies on symbolism to tell its story of psychological torment. Pick several of the major symbols or symbolic systems at work in the novel, describe them in terms of Hawthorne's fictional technique and offer an interpretation of their symbolic meaning on multiple levels.

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

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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