Quiz for THE SCARLET LETTER

1. Hawthorne supposedly found the parchment 7. When asked who created her, Pearl says it was sheets that contained the historical manuscript a. God on which the novel is based in b. her parents a. a shoebox under his bed c. the wild rosebush outside the prison door b. a file cabinet at the Essex Historical Society d. the Lord of Misrule c. the Salem Custom House, along with the faded scarlet “A” 8. As time goes by, Hester’s scarlet letter comes d. a box filled with his father’s papers to stand for a. amends 2. Hawthorne suggests that the wild rosebush that b. articulate grows outside the prison door is a symbol of c. able a. virginity. d. angel b. the loss of true love. c. natural, untamed beauty. 9. Chillingworth became the greatest sinner in d. the thorny road of life. violating the human heart because he a. felt the church should have avenged him 3. What does the scarlet letter look like? b. single-mindedly was bent on personal revenge a. Very plain and severe, like most c. neglected his young wife Puritan decorations d. consistently acted with indifference toward b. Artistically done, with elaborate embroidery everyone around him and flourishes of gold thread c. A plain “A,” twined with a thorny rosebush 10. Hester tells Dimmesdale in the forest that d. Small and understated, so that it blends into humans have a right to be happy and that Hester’s dress a. the love she shared with him was sacred b. prayer could bring about their atonement 4. Hester’s husband, Roger Chillingworth, is c. the Puritan community had no right to tell a. much younger than she is them what to do b. her soul mate d. their behavior could be judged only by God c. much older than she is d. the minister of the town of Salem 11. After she is released from prison, Hester remains in Boston because 5. By punishing Hester with the scarlet letter, a. the townspeople won’t let her go the Puritan community is b. she and Pearl’s father can live together, giving a. being reasonable about their justice Pearl a more stable lifestyle b. following the principles of religious forgiveness c. she has neither money nor friends to support c. proclaiming its own smug self-righteousness herself if she moves d. promising redemption at her death d. every other place on earth would feel foreign to her, so she is bound, psychologically, to stay 6. Two symbolic images of the good and evil battling over Dimmesdale’s soul are 12. To support herself and Pearl, Hester sells a. Pearl and Hester needlework for all public ceremonies except b. Chillingworth and Pearl a. weddings c. Chillingworth and Mistress Hibbins b. funerals d. the immense red “A” that appears in the sky c. ordinations of new ministers as Dimmesdale performs a silent vigil on the d. baptisms scaffold and the scarlet letter “A” that Hester wears

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13. Following an impressive meteor shower, the 18. Who says the following: “No man, for any people of Boston see a symbol in the sky: a considerable period, can wear one face to huge letter “A.” They interpret this “A” as himself, and another to the multitude, with- standing for out finally getting bewildered as to which a. adultery may be true.” b. able a. Hester c. angel b. The author is speaking directly to the reader d. Arthur (as in Arthur Dimmesdale) c. Chillingworth d. Dimmesdale 14. Hester decides to reveal Chillingworth’s true identity to Dimmesdale because 19. One of Hawthorne’s ancestors was a judge in a. she realizes that Chillingworth is literally killing the Salem witch trials. Dimmesdale a. True b. she wants to hurt Dimmesdale by revealing her b. False love for Chillingworth c. she wants Pearl to meet her real father 20. When Roger Chillingworth arrives in Boston d. otherwise Chillingworth will reveal the secret and discovers his wife, Hester, disgraced on himself the scaffold, his face writhes in horror like a snake. 15. Hester explains the scarlet letter to Pearl a. True by saying it is b. False a. a symbol of her membership in a secret society of women 21. Hester and her husband were once deeply in b. a family heirloom, given to her by love until he deserted her by moving west. her grandmother a. True c. a sample of her craftsmanship b. False d. a mark left from her one meeting with the 22. The needlework Hester does to support Black Man herself and Pearl is plain and ordinary, 16. Who says the following: “It irks me, never- in typical Puritan fashion. theless, that the partner of her iniquity should a. True not, at least, stand on the scaffold by her side. b. False But he will be known! — he will be known! — he will be known!” 23. Some members of the town want to take Pearl away from Hester because they think she is a. Dimmesdale too poor to support a child. b. Chillingworth c. Mistress Hibbins a. True d. One of the townswomen b. False 17. Who says the following: “What we did had a 24. Pearl is associated with elves, mermaids, and consecration of its own. We felt it so! We said the Lord of Misrule. so to each other! Hast thou forgotten it?” a. True a. Chillingworth b. False b. Dimmesdale 25. Arthur Dimmesdale asks Roger Chillingworth c. Hester to come live with him because he feels guilty for d. Pearl falling in love with Chillingworth’s wife. a. True b. False

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Answers: (1) c (2) c (3) b (4) c (5) c (6) b (7) c (8) c (9) b (10) a (11) d (12) a (13) c (14) a (15) d (16) b (17) c (18) b (19) a (20) a (21) b (22) b (23) b (24) a (25) b

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