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The Scarlet Letter

Nathaniel Hawthorne

1. In what century is the story of Hester Prynne set?


(A) The sixteenth century
(B) The seventeenth century
(C) The eighteenth century
(D) The nineteenth century

2. What is the occupation of the narrator of this story?


(A) Attorney
(B) Minister
(C) Land surveyor
(D) Customs officer

3. Where do Hester and Chillingworth live before coming to America?


(A) Amsterdam
(B) Paris
(C) Edinburgh
(D) Jamaica

4. With whom has Chillingworth been living before he appears in Boston?


(A) Another band of Puritans
(B) Native Americans
(C) Spanish settlers in Florida
(D) Canadian fur trappers

5. What is situated immediately outside the door of the prison in which Hester is kept?
(A) A rosebush
(B) A pine tree
(C) A gallows
(D) A graveyard

6. What item in the governor’s mansion shows Hester a distorted reflection of herself?
(A) An antique mirror
(B) A suit of armor
(C) A stained-glass window
(D) The governor’s eyeglasses

7. Which of the following is a method Dimmesdale uses to punish himself for his sins?
(A) Scourging or whipping
(B) Fasting
(C) Vigils (extended periods of wakefulness and/or prayer)
(D) All of the above

8. In what city do Hester and Pearl live?


(A) Salem
(B) Providence
(C) Boston
(D) Hartford

9. Who is Mistress Hibbins?


(A) The governor’s sister
(B) Hester’s mother
(C) Dimmesdale’s aunt
(D) Chillingworth’s second wife
10. How does Mistress Hibbins eventually die?
(A) She is strangled by Chillingworth.
(B) She wastes away in a diphtheria epidemic.
(C) She is executed publicly as a witch.
(D) Pearl puts a hex on her.

11. How does Hester support herself financially?


(A) As a prostitute
(B) As a seamstress
(C) As a nurse
(D) As a farmhand

12. Next to whom is Hester buried?


(A) Dimmesdale
(B) Chillingworth
(C) Pearl
(D) No one; her body is burned.

13. What natural phenomenon comes to symbolize both Dimmesdale’s “sin” and Governor
Winthrop’s “virtue”?
(A) A lightning bolt
(B) A meteor
(C) A forest fire
(D) A flood

14. Why does Pearl not recognize her mother when she sees her with Dimmesdale in the forest?
(A) Hester has removed the scarlet letter.
(B) Hester has removed her cap to expose her long hair.
(C) Hester is not wearing her usual plain gray dress.
(D) Mistress Hibbins has cast a spell on Hester, changing her appearance.

15. How does Pearl acknowledge Dimmesdale as her father at his death?
(A) By calling him “father”
(B) By interrupting his sermon
(C) By kissing him
(D) By announcing that she has seen him with her mother

16. What mark can supposedly be seen on Dimmesdale’s chest?


(A) A scarlet letter “A”
(B) A tattoo
(C) The mark of the devil
(D) A red rose

17. How do Hester and Dimmesdale plan to escape their suffering?


(A) By going to live with the Native Americans
(B) By boarding a ship bound for Europe
(C) By killing Chillingworth
(D) By committing suicide

18. How does Pearl become wealthy?


(A) She discovers pirates’ treasure.
(B) She marries the governor’s son.
(C) She inherits Chillingworth’s estate and marries a nobleman.
(D) She becomes a famous actress and dancer.
19. Where does the narrator first encounter Hester Prynne’s story?
(A) He finds a manuscript in the attic of the Salem Custom-House.
(B) He hears it from an elderly aunt.
(C) He hears it from one of the old men who work at the Salem Custom-House.
(D) It comes to him in a dream.

20. What item of clothing does Hester make for Governor Winthrop?
(A) A cloak for his swearing-in
(B) A nightcap
(C) A pair of gloves
(D) A winter hat

21. What color of clothing does Hester always wear?


(A) Scarlet
(B) White
(C) Black
(D) Gray

22. Where do Hester and Pearl live?


(A) In the poorhouse
(B) In an abandoned cottage on the outskirts of Boston
(C) In the forest
(D) In the house of Roger Chillingworth

23. What does Chillingworth pretend to be?


(A) A minister
(B) A doctor
(C) A madman
(D) A scholar

24. Why did Hawthorne write the Custom-House introduction to the novel?

* he was interested in the economic side of adultery


* he thought The Scarlet Letter was too short to print by itself
* he wanted to describe how he "discovered" the manuscript
* he wanted to write an autobiographical short story

24. What gesture does Reverend Dimmesdale make throughout the book?

* rubs his brow


* pulls at his shirt sleeves
* raises his eyes to heaven
* places his hand over his heart

25. Chillingworth pretends to be of what profession?

* a doctor
* a lawyer
* a clergyman
* an infantryman

26. After she is released from prison, Hester goes to live where?

* on the outskirts of Boston


* in another city in the colony of Massachusetts
* within the city of Boston
* with Roger Chillingworth
27. How does Hester earn a living?

* by growing crops
* by healing other people
* by her needlework
* by selling wood in Boston

28. What is the first thing that Pearl sees as a baby?

* the rosebush
* Hester
* the scarlet letter on Hester's chest
* the inside of a prison cell

29. What does Pearl best represent throughout the novel?

* the living embodiment of Hester's sin


* a form of punishment for Hester
* the unifying force that will bring Hester and Dimmesdale together at the end
* a young innocent child

30. When John Wilson asks Pearl who her maker is, Pearl replies:

* that sin made her


* that she was plucked off of a rose bush
* that Hester and Dimmesdale made her
* that God made her

31. Mistress Hibbins, the sister of Governor Bellingham, is reputed to be:

* a witch
* a cruel lady
* a Puritan
* a good mother

32. Hawthorne draws strong parallels between what three images?

* the prison door, the red rose, Pearl


* Pearl, the red rose, the scarlet letter
* the prison door, the scarlet letter, Pearl
* Pearl, Hester, the red rose

33. To whom does Hawthorne apply the term "The Leech"?

* Hester
* Dimmesdale
* Chillingworth
* Pearl

34. How does Chillingworth figure out who Pearl's father really is?

* Dimmesdale tells him


* He never finds out
* Hester tells him one day in the woods
* Chillingworth becomes Dimmesdale's doctor and guesses the secret
35. What illuminates the first scaffold scene where Hester, Dimmesdale and Pearl are brought
together?

* a torch
* a meteor
* a fire
* a lantern

ANOTHER SET OF QUESTIONS

1. Who is the wearer of the scarlet letter?

Aurther Dimmesdale
Mistress Hibbins
Pearl
Hester Prynne

2. Who is Hester's partner in adultery?

The Black Man


Chillingworth
Dimmesdale
Wilson

3. What does Chillingworth dress up as at the beginning of the book?

An Indian
A Beetle
A Minister
A Blacksmith

4. What is Hester's hobby/occupation?

Bible Reciting
Singing
Sewing
Reading

5. Whose daughter is Pearl?

Chillingworth
Dimmesdale
Wilson
The Black Man

6. Where does Dimmesdale confess his sin?

The pulpit
The jail
The forest
The scaffold

7. What does Dimmesdale see in the sky as he stands on the scaffold for the second time?

The Devil
Mistress Hibbins dancing
A fire in the church
A red A in the sky
8. Who is Chillingworth married to?

He's not married


Mistress Hibbins
Hester
Pearl

9. Where is Dimmesdale's scarlet letter?

On his robes
Over his heart
On his hat
On his Bible

10. How long did Hester have to stand on the scaffold?

Three hours
One day
An hour
Five hours

11. What was the name of Hester's daughter?

Violet
Pearl
Patience
Hope

12. What alias did Hester's husband take?

Roger Prynne
Roger Chillingworth
Roger Hamilton
Roger Frederickson

13. What physical deformity did Hester's husband have?

One shoulder was higher than the other.


He was missing three fingers.
He was missing a foot.
His nose was extremely crooked.

14. What was the name of the governor's sister?

Mistress Turner
Mistress Wilson
Mistress Hibbins
Mistress Jackson

15. Hester never revealed her husband's true identity to Dimmesdale.

True
False
16. Where did Dimmesdale frequently put his hand?

None of these
On his forehead
Over his heart
Over his mouth

17. When did Dimmesdale confess?

Christmas
Easter
New Year's
Election day

18. Did the graves of Hester and Dimmesdale touch?

Yes
No

19. The novel does not include the death of which character?

Chillingworth
Hester
Pearl
Dimmesdale

20 What does the letter stand for?


Adulterer
Blasphemer
Condemned
Degraded

21 What is part of the main character's punishment for the sin she committed?
She must never use her needle again.
She must stand at the market square for three hours.
She must move away forever.
She must give up her child as a sacrifice.

22 As the main character is fulfilling her punishment, she sees her husband.
True
False

23 Reverend Dimmesdale is the main character's husband.


True
False

24 The narrator said he found the idea for this novel at the Salem Custom House.
True
False
Study Questions

1. What is the setting of the story?

2. What reasons are given as to why Hester Prynne was not executed for her crime? What would
the Puritan women have done to her if given the power?

3. After her ordeal, where did Hester choose to live? Why?

4. What occupation did Hester take up?

5. Describe Pearl’s personality and appearance.

6. What is Pearl’s reaction to the scarlet letter?

7. Why does Hester go the Governor’s house?

8. Describe the luxury of the Governor’s home, especially in contrast to an ordinary..

9. Describe Hester’s appearance and mental state during this time period.

10. Give at least three examples of Hester’s treatment by the community.

11. What are the townspeople’s reactions to Chillingworth’s lodging in the same house as
Dimmesdale?

12. What changes have taken place in Chillingworth over the years?

13. What actions does Dimmesdale take to punish himself?

14. What is the significance of Chillingworth’s examining Dimmesdale’s chest?

15. What is the reaction of Dimmesdale’s parishioners to his sermons?

16. What are the effects of the letter on Hester Prynne over this seven year interval?

17. What crime has Hester committed which, if known to the Puritans, would have resulted in her
death?

18. Why does Hester feel responsible for Dimmesdale’s physical condition?

19. What crime has Hester committed which, if known to the Puritans, would have resulted in her
death?

20. Why does Hester prefer to meet with Dimmesdale in the forest rather than in the settlement?

21. What significance can be attributed to the play of sunlight on Pearl and Hester?

22. What story does Pearl hear of her mother’s involvement with the Black Man of the Forest?

23. What are Dimmesdale’s reactions when Hester tells him Chillingworth’s true identity?

24. What effect does Hester have upon Dimmesdale?

25. How does Pearl fit into the forest setting?

26. Why does Pearl refuse to retrieve...

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