Chapter One and Two: the Scarlet Letter
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Chapter One and Two: The Scarlet Letter 1.) In what town does The Scarlet Letter take place? 2.) What is the title of Chapter One? 3.) Describe the prison. 4.) What natural element stands in stark contrast to the exterior of the prison? 5.) Describe the appearance of the typical Puritan women of the town. 6.) What metaphor does Hawthorne use to describe the prison? (Hint- page 33) 7.) What do the women of the town think of the punishment that Hester has received? 8.) Why do you think that they feel this way? 9.) Who is Hester’s pastor? 10.) What do the women of the town think of him? 11.) What is Hester’s punishment? 12.) What was her crime? 13.) Who was her accomplice? 14.) Describe Hester. 15.) Describe the scarlet letter itself. 16.) What do the people of the town think of the way that Hester has stitched the letter? 17.) What is the “penal machine” that is described on page 38? 18.) How does the image of Hester on the scaffold resemble an image of “Divine Maternity”? (Hint- page 39) 19.) What does Hester see when she looks out from the scaffold (in general)? 20.) Describe the person that she sees when she looks over the crowd. 21.) Who do you think that the person might be? 22.) Do you think that the crowd will ever forgive Hester? Why? 23.) Do you think that the crowd will ever discover the identity of her accomplice? Why Chapter Three- The Scarlet Letter
1.) Who does Hester see at the beginning of Chapter Three?
2.) Describe the man.
3.) Who arrives with the man?
4.) Does Hester know this man? 5.) Does he seem to know her?
6.) What does he ask about her?
7.) What does the man think of Hester’s sentence?
8.) Who questions Hester about whom is the father of her child?
9.) Describe the questioning.
10.) Does Hester tell the crowd who it is?
11.) What does Dimmesdale’s placing of his hand over his heart symbolize?
12.) What happens at the end of the chapter?
13.) What do you predict will happen with the mysterious traveler?
Chapter Four- The Scarlet Letter
1.) What is the title of Chapter Four?
2.) Why is the chapter called this?
3.) Where does the chapter take place?
4.) Who are the characters in the chapter?
5.) Why does the physician come to see the prisoner?
6.) What is his name?
7.) What do you think is the significance of the man’s name?
8.) What does Hester think of the physician?
9.) Who is he in reality?
10.) Describe Hester’s relationship with her husband (in the past).
11.) Does Hester express guilt over her infidelity?
12.) To what does her husband tell her that he is going to devote his life?
13.) Will Hester help him to accomplish his goal? 14.) What promise does the man extract from Hester?
15.) Why does she agree?
16.) Why does the man say that he wants no one to know his true identity?
17.) Why do you think that Chillingworth smiles at Hester?
18.) What is the significance of the last line of the chapter?
Chapter 5- The Scarlet Letter 1.) Why is the chapter called “Hester at Her Needle?”
2.) How does chapter five begin?
3.) Why does Hawthorne say that Hester remains in Boston?
4.) Do you think that Hester would have an easier time somewhere else? Why?
5.) Describe Hester’s new home.
6.) What does Hester do to make money?
7.) Describe Hester’s skill- What is it that she is so good at?
8.) Who buys her work?
9.) Why do you think that Hawthorne makes Hester good at this type of work?
10.) How is her work in direct contrast to the typical Puritan style?
11.) How is her work symbolic of her position in the town?
12.) What do you think that Hawthorne is implying when he makes the Governor and high-ranking officials among her best patrons?
13.) What item is it that Hester is never asked to make?
14.) How does Pearl dress?
15.) What does Hester do for the poor?
16.) What does Hawthorne say that Hester expresses through her sewing? 17.) What often happens when Hester attends church?
18.) What do you think that Hawthorne means when he says that “sometimes…she felt an eye…that seemed to give a momentary relief…Had Hester sinned alone?”
19.) How do the people that pass Hester on the street view the scarlet letter?
20.) How do the old women view Hester?
Chapter 7- The Scarlet Letter 1.) What is chapter seven called?
2.) Why is the chapter called this?
3.) Why has Hester gone to see Governor Bellingham? There are two reasons.
4.) Who accompanies Hester to the mansion?
5.) What does Hawthorne say that Pearl (and her clothes) remind people of?
6.) How do the other children approach Hester and Pearl on their journey?
7.) How does Pearl handle the other children?
8.) Describe the mansion.
9.) Does it seem ironic that such a revered man should live in such a house? Why?
10.) What do you think that the sparkling bits of broken glass are symbolic of?
11.) What does Hawthorne imply about the pewter tankard (page 72)?
12.) What does he imply about the suit of armor in the hall?
13.) What purpose does the armor serve to Hester and Pearl?
14.) What does Pearl want in the end of the chapter?
15.) Why does she become quiet?
16.) Do you think that the men will take Pearl from Hester? Why?
17.) What do you think that Pearl will grow up to be? Will she be a “typical”
or a rebellious Puritan? Chapter Eight- The Scarlet Letter 1.) What is the title of the chapter?
2.) Describe Governor Bellingham.
3.) Who is Mr. Wilson? What is his occupation?
4.) Describe Mr. Wilson.
5.) What is public opinion of Hester Prynne?
6.) Who is present in the garden with Bellingham in this chapter?
7.) How does Bellingham address Pearl?
8.) What reason does Hester give that she might be allowed to keep Pearl?
9.) How does Pearl react to Mr. Wilson?
10.) What does he ask her?
11.) What does she reply?
12.) Describe Chillingworth (at this point in the novel).
13.) What does Hester do when the men say that Pearl should be taken away?
14.) Does this work?
15.) What does Dimmesdale say to the men?
16.) How do the other men react to Dimmesdale’s speech?
17.) How does Wilson react to Chillingworth’s questioning of the child’s
paternity?
18.) Who is Mistress Hibbins?
19.) What does she tell Hester?
20.) Who is the “Black Man?”
21.) What does Hester say to Hibbins?
Chapter Nine- The Scarlet Letter 1.) What is the title of chapter nine? 2.) What is a leech? 3.) Why is the title of the chapter a play on an old term? 4.) Why does Chillingworth keep his identity a secret? 5.) Is Chillingworth really a doctor? 6.) Describe the medical expertise available in Boston before Chillingworth’s arrival. 7.) Why do the people think that he is such a learned physician? 8.) Is Chillingworth a religious man (as far as other see)? 9.) Who is his minister? 10.) Describe Dimmesdale’s condition when Chillingworth arrives in town. 11.) Why is his condition as bad as it is? 12.) What does the town think is the reason for his decline? 13.) What does he think is the reason? 14.) What does the town ask Chillingworth to do? 15.) Does Dimmesdale want help? 16.) Does he want to die? 17.) If he does want to die, does that change your opinion of him? Why? 18.) How does the relationship between Chillingworth and Dimmesdale progress? 19.) Where does Chillingworth live at the end of the chapter? 20.) Why does he end up living there? 21.) Why is this ironic? 22.) What does Hawthorne mean when he says that the townspeople thought of Chillingworth as “Satan’s emissary?” 23.) What does he mean when he says that “the victory was anything but secure?” 24.) In your opinion, who suffers a worse fate: Hester or Dimmesdale? Why? Chapter Ten- The Scarlet Letter 1.) Describe Chillingworth before his arrival in Boston. 2.) Why is he so attached to Dimmesdale? 3.) Does Dimmesdale know what Chillingworth is up to? 4.) Why is he unable to figure out Chillingworth’s mission? 5.) Where does Chillingworth say that he got the dark leaves? 6.) What is the double meaning of the conversation regarding the leaves? 7.) What does Chillingworth ask Dimmesdale to reveal? 8.) Does he reveal it? 9.) What does Chillingworth say is the reason that one should unburden oneself? 10.) Who is outside the window while the two men are talking? 11.) What are they doing? 12.) What does Chillingworth think of Pearl? 13.) What does Dimmesdale think of Pearl? 14.) What does Pearl warn Hester that the “Black Man” will do to her? 15.) What does she say about the “Black Man” and Dimmesdale? 16.) What do you think that the “Black Man” represents? 17.) What does Chillingworth ask Dimmedale about his illness? 18.) Why does Dimmesdale rush from the room? 19.) What does Chillingworth notice when he does so? 20.) What does Chillingworth do as Dimmesdale sleeps? 21.) What does he find? 22.) What do you think that he actually sees? 23.) How does he react? 24.) How does Hawthorne say that he differs from Satan in his reaction? 25.) Have all of the major characters undergone a transformation, or has their true character simply been revealed? Chapter Eleven- The Scarlet Letter 25.) What is the title of chapter eleven?
26.) How did Chillingworth’s plan change after the discovery in chapter ten?
27.) How does Chillingworth torture Dimmesdale?
28.) Why is Dimmesdale such a good and popular minister?
29.) Why does Dimmesdale question whether grass will grow on his grave?
30.) What does he say will be buried with him? 31.) What does Dimmesdale “loathe” more than all other things?
32.) What does Dimmesdale keep in his closet?
33.) What is it?
34.) What does he do with it?
35.) When does he do it?
36.) What is the act symbolic of?
37.) What is it that gave Dimmesdale “a real existence on Earth?”
38.) What thought does Dimmesdale have at the end of chapter eleven?
39.) What does he do?
40.) What is your opinion of Dimmesdale at this point in the novel? Why?
41.) Why do you think that Dimmesdale beats himself?
42.) Is this beating more or less severe than the public beating that Hester
suffers? Why?
Chapter Twelve- The Scarlet Letter 43.) What is the title of chapter twelve?
44.) What is the meaning of the title of chapter twelve?
45.) Where does Dimmesdale go in the beginning of the chapter?
46.) Why does he go there?
47.) What does he do when he gets there?
48.) Does anyone hear him?
49.) Who walks past Dimmesdale while he is there?
50.) Does he speak top them?
51.) Who discovers Dimmesdale on the scaffold?
52.) Why has Hester been out in the night? 53.) What does Pearl ask Dimmesdale to do?
54.) Does he agree to do it?
55.) What does he say that he will do?
56.) What natural event occurs when they are standing on the scaffold?
57.) What is the significance of the event?
58.) What or whom does Pearl point toward?
59.) What does Dimmesdale ask Hester with terror?
60.) What does she respond?
61.) Who escorts Dimmesdale home?
62.) What does the sexton bring Dimmesdale in the morning?
63.) What does he tell Dimmesdale was seen in the night sky?
64.) What does Dimmesdale reply?
Chapters 14, 15, 16- The Scarlet Letter 1.) What is the title of chapter 14? 2.) Why is the chapter called this? 3.) Where do Hester and Chillingworth meet? 4.) What does Chillingworth suggest that the town might do with the scarlet letter? 5.) How does Hester respond? 6.) How long has it been since Hester has spoken with Chillingworth? 7.) What dos Chillingworth say that he has become? 8.) Who does he say made him the way that he is? 9.) How does the meeting end? 10.) What is the title of chapter 15? 11.) What does Hester now feel about Chillingworth? 12.) What has Pearl been doing to amuse herself while her mother talks? 13.) What does Hester ask Pearl? 14.) What does Pearl answer? 15.) Does Hester tell her the correct answer? 16.) I Pearl satisfied with Hester’s answer? 17.) What is the title of chapter sixteen? 18.) What is Hester resolved to do in the beginning of the chapter? 19.) Where and whom does she plan to meet? 20.) When in the forest, what avoids Hester and is caught by Pearl? 21.) What is this symbolic of? 22.) What does Hester say that the letter is the mark of? 23.) What do you think that she means by this? 24.) What does Pearl say the “Black Man” has under his arm? 25.) Who crosses Hester and Pearl’s path in the close of the chapter? 26.) How does he appear to Hester? 27.) Do you think that Hester will tell him the truth? 28.) How do you think that he will react?
Chapters Seventeen and Eighteen - The Scarlet Letter 1.) What is the title of chapter seventeen? 2.) Do you think that Hester is still Dimmesdale’s parishioner? 3.) How do Dimmesdale and Hester interact at first (when they meet in the woods)? 4.) What does Dimmesdale ask Hester? 5.) What does she answer? 6.) How does Hester suggest that Dimmesdale find relief? 7.) What does he reply? 8.) What does Hester say to Dimmesdale regarding Chillingworth? 9.) How does Dimmesdale react? 10.) What does Hester do following Dimmesdale’s reaction? 11.) What is the “one virtue to which (Hester has) held fast?” 12.) What does Dimmesdale decide to do in the end of the chapter? 13.) What does Hester suggest to him? 14.) What is the title of chapter eighteen? 15.) To what does the title refer? 16.) What is Dimmesdale’s inner struggle? 17.) What symbolic act does Hester perform in order to calm Dimmesdale? 18.) How does she feel when this act is done? 19.) What happens to her appearance when she does this? 20.) Of what is her hair symbolic? 21.) Why do you think that Hester and Dimmesdale meet in the woods? 22.) Why does Hawthorne capitalize Nature? 23.) How has Pearl spent the hour that has passed? 24.) Describe her interaction with Nature? 25.) What do you think that Hawthorne is trying to say about Nature in this chapter? 26.) How does Pearl approach Hester and Dimmesdale? 27.) Why has Hester summoned her?