Scarlet Letter Final Test

English 10

Name: ___________________________________

1: Hawthorne completed The Scarlet Letter in what year?

(a): 1820

(b): 1850

(c): 1900

(d): 1950

2: The prison door best represents which of the following:

(a): Puritanical severity of law and the authority of the regime

(b): a dirty, rusted old door separating Hester from her daughter

(c): an escape route for Hester

(d): the strength of Hester's determination to live with her crime

3: The rosebush outside the prison door is a symbol of all of the following except:

(a): Hester and Pearl living among the Puritans

(b): Hester's passion

(c): the wilderness surrounding Boston

(d): Puritanical punishment for moral crimes

4: Hawthorne's portrayal of the Puritanical society is one of:

(a): support for the Puritan way of life

(b): contradictory images and hypocrisy

(c): disgust with the Puritan way of life

(d): he does not portray the Puritanical society

5: Hester has embroidered what symbol onto her dress?

(a): A bird for freedom

(b): A rose blossom

(c): A scarlet letter A

(d): A round pearl

6: What gesture does Reverend Dimmesdale make throughout the book?

(a): He rubs his brow

(b): He pulls at his shirt sleeves

(c): He places his hand over his heart

(d): He raises his eyes to heaven

7: Why is the first scaffold scene very ironic?

(a): Because Hester is married to Chillingworth and he has just arrived.

(b): Because it is the first time that Hester has come into public wearing the

scarlet "A" on her chest.

(c): Because Dimmesdale is called upon to ask Hester who

the father is

(d): Because it’s like 10,000 spoons when all you need is a knife.

8: Chillingworth pretends to be of what profession?

(a): a lawyer

(b): a doctor

(c): a clergyman
(d): an infantryman

9: After she is released from prison, Hester goes to live where?

(a): on the outskirts of Boston

(b): within the city of Boston

(c): in another city in the colony of Massachusetts

(d): with Roger Chillingworth

10: How does Hester earn a living?

(a): by selling wood in Boston

(b): by growing crops

(c): by her needlework

(d): by healing other people

11: What does Pearl best represent throughout the novel?

(a): The living embodiment of Hester's sin

(b): The unifying force that will bring Hester and Dimmesdale together at the end

(c): A young innocent child

(d): A form of punishment for Hester

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

(a): that God made her

(b): that Hester and Dimmesdale made her

(c): that sin made her

(d): that she was plucked off of a rose bush

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

(a): a witch

(b): a good mother

(c): a cruel lady

(d): a Puritan

14: To whom does Hawthorne apply the term "The Leech"?

(a): Dimmesdale

(b): Hester

(c): Pearl

(d): Chillingworth

15: How does Chillingworth figure out who Pearl's father really is?

(a): Dimmesdale tells him

(b): Chillingworth becomes Dimmesdale's doctor and guesses the secret

(c): Hester tells him one day in the woods

(d): He never finds out

16: What is Hester's response when she learns that the Puritan council might allow her to

remove her scarlet letter?

(a): she is very happy

(b): she is furious

(c): she indicates that only God can remove her letter

(d): she immediately takes the letter off and goes into town without it
17: Hester tries to convince Dimmesdale to do what during their walks in the woods?

(a): to run away and live elsewhere

(b): to get rid of Chillingworth

(c): to marry her

(d): to adopt Pearl

18: What does Pearl do when she first sees her mother without the scarlet letter?

(a): She is excited for her mother

(b): She convulses and screams

(c): She runs away

(d): She runs to hug her mother

19: Who destroys Dimmesdale and Hester's plans to run away from Boston?

(a): Pearl

(b): Bellingham

(c): John Williams

(d): Chillingworth

20: What does Pearl do right before Dimmesdale dies?

(a): She takes his hand and gives it to Hester

(b): She kisses Dimmesdale

(c): She runs away from Hester

(d): She runs to Roger Chillingworth

21: Eventually, years after it was put on her chest to stand for "adultery", the "A" on Hester’s chest begins to
stand for:

(a): Articulate

(b): Attitude

(c): Able

(d): Alcoholic

22: Two symbolic images of the good and evil battling over Dimmesdale’s soul are:

(a): Pearl and Hester

(b): Chillingworth and Pearl

(c): Chillingworth and Mistress Hibbins

(d): Pearl and John Wilson

23: By punishing Hester with the scarlet letter, the Puritan community is doing what, according to Nathaniel
Hawthorne?

(a): being reasonable about their justice

(b): following the principles of religious forgiveness

(c): proclaiming its own smug and judgmental self-richeousness

(d): being merciful by allowing Hester to stay in town

24: Chillingworth became the greatest sinner in violating the human heart because:

(a): He felt the church should have avenged him

(b): He single-mindedly was bent on personal revenge against Dimmesdale

(c): He burned a scarlet letter into Dimmesdale’s chest with a hot iron

(d): He neglected his young wife

25: Name another story that Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote:

(a): "The Lottery"

(b): "Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment"

(c): "The Tell-Tale Heart"

(d): "Yes, Ma’am"

26: Nathaniel Hawthorne had an ancestor who:

(a): Presided over the Salem Witch Trials of 1692

(b): Was lost at sea, never to be found again

(c): Joined a Native American tribe

(d): Was part of the California Gold Rush

27: What happens to Pearl at the end of the story?

(a): She dies the same day that Dimmesdale confesses.

(b): She is left a lot of money by Chillingworth, and leaves town, never to be

heard from again.

(c): She is forced to wear lower-case "a" on her chest, for she is the daughter of

Hester.

(d): She becomes the first female mayor of Salem.

28: What is the setting of The Scarlet Letter?

(a): Salem, Massachusetts in 1850

(b): New York City in 1600

(c): London, England in 1700

(d): Boston, Massachusetts in 1650

29: The following line is about Hester, towards the end of the story:

"Her face, so long familiar to the townspeople, showed the marble quietude which they were accustomed to
behold there. It was like a mask; or rather, like the frozen calmness of a dead woman’s features…"
What literary device does Hawthorne use in the underlined portion of the passage?

a. symbolism
b. metaphor
c. simile
d. haiku

30: What kind of story, or genre, is The Scarlet Letter classified as?

(a): romantic comedy

(b): psychological romance

(c): action/adventure

(d): satire

Character graph – What happened to the three main characters as the story progressed? Fill in the blanks.

Briefly, what were Briefly, what were What happened to

they like at the tart they like seven them at the end?
of story? years later, in the
middle of story?

Hester Ashamed, hated by

community

Arthur The revenge has

consumed his soul
and made his
outward appearance
more and more evil.

Roger Publicly confesses

and dies.
 Essay Questions

1. Which character in A Scarlet Letter displays the most integrity? Why do you feel this way? Back up
your answer with evidence from the story.

2. Which character in A Scarlet Letter felt the most alienation? Why do you feel this way?

3. Why are the three scaffold scenes so important? Describe what happens in each of them, and why the
events were so important to the story.
4. Some critics say that Hester Prynne was the first American heroine. Others, however, say that her
somewhat silent suffering isn’t truly heroic. What qualities and actions make a character heroic? Are
there any heroes or heroic actions in The Scarlet Letter? Defend your answer.

5. In the third scaffold scene, it is said that Dimmesdale regains his soul, Pearl gains her humanity,
Chillingworth loses his victim, and Hester loses her dreams. Explain what this means for each of the
characters.
6. Throughout America’s history, there have always been laws that regulated citizens’ personal behavior.
Among the Puritans of the 18th century, for example, adultery was a serious crime, as The Scarlet Letter
makes clear. Today we have laws forcing motorcycle riders to wear helmets, laws that make suicide
illegal, and laws against speeding on an empty highway, among many others. Where should society
draw the line between personal and political actions? Should society have the right to tell you how to
behave on your own time? Why or why not?