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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 does the narrator characterize Dimmesdale's sermon?

2. What is the title of Chapter 18?

3. What had Dimmesdale been doing to himself?

4. Which of the following is NOT an explanation for Dimmesdale's "red stigma"?

5. What is Dimmesdale's "own red stigma"?

Short Essay Questions

1. Where does Dimmesdale go at the beginning of Chapter 12, and why?

2. Why does Hawthorne describe Pearl, in Chapter 19, as a "living hieroglyphic."

3. Why, in Chapter 18, does Hester remove the scarlet letter and fling it into a brook?

4. In Chapter 14, why is Chillingworth in the woods?

5. What, according to the narrator, enlivened the public holiday with "some diversity of hue?"

6. According to the narrator, what appeared to be Dimmesdale's subject, in his sermon in Chapter 23?

7. In Chapter 14, what does Hester ask of Chillingworth?

8. In Chapter 15, when Pearl asks Hester what the letter stands for, what does Hester reply?

9. Why do Hester and Pearl gather with other townspeople at the beginning of Chapter 21?

10. In Chapter 13, Hawthorne says that some people would think that Hester's scarlet letter stands for "Able." Why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

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 3

This novel relies on symbolism to tell its story of psychological torment. Pick several of the major symbols or symbolic systems at work in the novel, describe them in terms of Hawthorne's fictional technique and offer an interpretation of their symbolic meaning on multiple levels.

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