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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 will Pearl not come to Hester in Chapter 19?
2. What is the title of Chapter 18?
3. With what kind of natural objects has Pearl decorated herself in Chapter 18?
4. "Its ranks were filled with gentlemen, who felt the stirrings of martial impulse" describes which group of men in the procession referred to in the title of Chapter 22?
5. What facial expression of Chillingworth displays his true malice, which the narrator calls "his blackness" in Chapter 14?
Short Essay Questions
1. In Chapter 14, what does Hester ask of Chillingworth?
2. What does Pearl do with the seaweed she finds, and what does it show about her as a character?
3. How does Pearl decorate herself at the end of Chapter 18 differently from how she did in the woods when Hester met Chillingworth?
4. Why, in Chapter 18, does Hester remove the scarlet letter and fling it into a brook?
5. What, according to the narrator, enlivened the public holiday with "some diversity of hue?"
6. Why does Hester say that Dimmesdale should travel somewhere, "whether in some remote village or in vast London, [...] in Germany, in France," etc?
7. When Hester calls for Pearl to come to her in Chapter 19, Pearl will not move from her spot in the woods. What prevents her from going to her mother?
8. How does Hawthorne describe Dimmesdale, either physically or emotionally, at the beginning of Chapter 13?
9. Why, at the end of the book, is Hester making a baby garment?
10. Why does Chillingworth attempt to stop Hester and Pearl from joining Dimmesdale on the scaffold?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Hypocrisy emerges as a major theme of this book. Pick a set of examples (such as one or two of the major characters, or specific chapters/settings/events) that demonstrate the forms of hypocrisy Hawthorne saw in Puritan life, and write an essay that explains them in terms of Hawthorne's criticism of such hypocrisy.
Essay Topic 2
Some critics might characterize parts of this work as feminist, particularly considering the role of Hester Prynne vis-a-vis her interactions with Governor Bellingham and the other public officials who want to take Pearl away from her. Argue this point in an analytical essay: does this particular sequence in the novel represent a feminist approach to custody? Decide whether you think so or not, and construct a well-reasoned argument that makes use of specific textual examples. (Note: there is no "right" answer: you can argue yes, no or maybe, as long as you construct a textual argument with specific and precise reasoning.)
Essay Topic 3
Much of the emotional struggle in this novel comes from a tension between public shame and private guilt. In an analytical essay, explain what each of these terms means in the scope of this novel, and how Hawthorne dramatizes each idea. Be sure to interpret them in terms of the fictional elements (characterization, setting, plot action, mood, etc.) Hawthorne uses to demonstrate them.
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This section contains 1,188 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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