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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. How old is the baby in Hester's arms when we first see her?

2. The earliest parts of the colony had been the jail and what other location?

3. What is the subtitle of "The Custom-House"?

4. What distinguishes the men in the "throng" at the beginning of thChapter 1?

5. Hawthorne utterly disclaims what kind of motives?

Short Essay Questions

1. Does Hawthorne, in the end, decide to change anything?

2. What does Hawthorne find alongside the scarlet letter?

3. Describe the clothing worn by the "throng of bearded men" at the beginning of Chapter 1.

4. What does the governor think about Hester as a mother?

5. Name one of the two reasons Hawthorne suspects that the plant standing outside the prison survived.

6. What does Chillingworth implore Hester to do when they meet in the jail?

7. Why is Hester standing before the townsfolk in the beginning of the novel?

8. Describe the setting Hawthorne describes of the busy wharf.

9. How does Dimmesdale respond to his growing guilt? How does he punish himself?

10. Why is "The Leech" an appropriate and significant name for this chapter?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Hawthorne plays with the notion of a happy ending near the end of the novel, teasing the reader with the notion that Dimmesdale and Hester might indeed live out a happily-ever-after ending. Consider the fates of the three major characters (Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth) and argue whether they experienced a happy ending or not. Be sure to use comparative analysis and textual examples.

Essay Topic 2

On your first read, "The Custom House" seems to have little or nothing to do with the "real" narrative of The Scarlet Letter, the story of Hester Prynne, yet Hawthorne's introductory essay establishes his narrative voice and justifies the origins of Hester's story. Write an analytical essay that argues the importance of this introduction to the narrative structure of the book. Key terms to consider are: frame narrative, narrative voice/point-of-view, symbolism, public/private life, etc.

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.

(see the answer keys)

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