View a FREE sample

This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. At the governor's house when the men are debating Hester's custody, what does one of them say Pearl should have been named?
(a) Pinkie, Cora or Rosa.
(b) Ruby, Scarlet or Roseanna.
(c) Ruby, Coral or Red Rose.
(d) Scarlet, Rose or Diamond.

2. Where are Dimmesdale's parents?
(a) In Boston.
(b) In Salem.
(c) Dead.
(d) In England.

3. The following description of someone's eyes in Chapter 10 refers to which character: "burning blue and ominous, like the reflection of a furnace....like one of those gleams of ghastly fire"?
(a) Dimmesdale.
(b) Chillingworth.
(c) Pearl.
(d) Hester.

4. In which year was this preface written?
(a) 1950.
(b) 1800.
(c) 1750.
(d) 1850.

5. Hawthorne calls the Custom House a...?
(a) Sketch of old-time Salem.
(b) Portrait of the Puritans.
(c) Picture of the colony.
(d) Sketch of official life.

6. Who, in Chapter 5, is referred to as "the figure, the body, the reality of sin?"
(a) Pearl.
(b) Hibbins.
(c) Dimmesdale.
(d) Hester.

7. What are the spikes on the door to the jail made of?
(a) Bronze.
(b) Iron.
(c) Seashell.
(d) Wood.

8. Who thinks that Hester's punishment/sentence is too light?
(a) The children of town.
(b) The ministers.
(c) The men of town.
(d) The women of town.

9. Which minister in the book has "a border of grizzled locks beneath his skull-cap" and gray eyes?
(a) Wilson.
(b) Lee.
(c) Chillingworth.
(d) Dimmesdale.

10. The earliest parts of the colony had been the jail and what other location?
(a) The schoolhouse.
(b) The church.
(c) The governor's mansion.
(d) The cemetery.

11. Who is with the governor when Hester visits his house to deliver something?
(a) Lee, Chillingworth, and Dimmesdale.
(b) Wilson and Dimmesdale.
(c) Dimmesdale, Chillingworth and Hibbins.
(d) Wilson, Dimmesdale and Chillingworth.

12. Which field had Bellingham trained for/been educated in?
(a) Law.
(b) Military.
(c) Medicine.
(d) Religion.

13. In what point of view is "The Custom House" written?
(a) First.
(b) Third person, limited.
(c) Second.
(d) Third person, omniscient.

14. How many years after the founding of Boston does Chapter 1 take place?
(a) Approximately 50 or 60.
(b) Approximately 90 or 100.
(c) Approximately 15 or 20.
(d) Approximately 150 or more.

15. How does Hawthorne describe the historic Salem of years ago?
(a) A busy metropolis.
(b) A dour harbor.
(c) A sad sailing town.
(d) A bustling port.

Short Answer Questions

1. From which city is this preface written?

2. Where is Hester when she and Pearl are examined by the doctor?

3. Salem is characterized currently as....?

4. Who is NOT among the crowd shaming Hester?

5. Why do most Puritans fast, according to the narrator?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 401 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample