Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864)
Study guide: The Scarlet Letter
English 10 Adv
Mosiondz
Chapter 1: The Prison Door
1. Which phrase does Hawthorne use to symbolize the prison?
2.
Under whose foot did the rose bush supposedly germinate?
3.
What is your impression of the Utopia Hawthorne describes in this chapter?
4.
Explain the significance of this chapter’s title.
Chapter 2: The Market Place
1. Why do the Puritan women hold such passionate opinions of the prisoner?
2.
What is the prisoner’s name? What does she carry when she appears? When & where does this happen?
3.
To what structure do the guards take the prisoner? What must she always wear on her bosom?
4.
Explain the significance of this chapter’s title.
Chapter 3: The Recognition
1. What physical deformity does the stranger have? What does the stranger learn about the prisoner, her crime,
and her punishment?
2.
Which ministers interrogate the prisoner, and what do they ask her to reveal? What is her answer?
3.
Assess the prisoner’s responses: is she being stubborn, or does she have a better reason?
4.
Explain the significance of this chapter’s title.
Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864)
Study guide: The Scarlet Letter
English 10 Adv
Mosiondz
Chapter 4: The Interview
1. Who are Master Brackett and Roger Chillingworth? What are their different opinions of torture?
2.
What mutual agreement do Roger and Hester reach?
3.
Why do you think one could describe Hester’s marriage to Roger as a case of beauty and the beast?
4.
Explain the significance of this chapter’s title.
Chapter 5: Hester at her Needle
1. Why doesn’t Hester move to another town?
2.
Describe the quality of Hester’s needlework; what is ironic about it?
3.
Explain how the letter makes Hester both a pariah and a percipient.
4.
Explain the significance of this chapter’s title.
Chapter 6: Pearl
1. Describe Pearl’s behavior and Hester’s manner of raising her.
2.
What games do Puritan children play, and why do they refuse to play with Pearl?
3.
What does Pearl want to know, and what answer does Hester give?
4.
Explain the significance of this chapter’s title.
Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864)
Study guide: The Scarlet Letter
English 10 Adv
Mosiondz
Chapter 7: The Governor’s Hall
1. For what reasons does Hester visit Governor Bellingham’s hall?
2.
How do you think Hawthorne uses a lengthy description of the hall to criticize the Puritans?
3.
To what reflective surface does Pearl draw Hester’s attention?
4.
Explain the significance of this chapter’s title.
Chapter 8: The Elf-Child and the Minister
1. Which guests are at the hall when Hester arrives?
2.
Summarize Arthur’s argument regarding Hester and Pearl.
3.
What does Mistress Hibbins want Hester to do, and what stops Hester from acceding to her wishes?
4.
Explain the significance of this chapter’s title.
Chapter 9: The Leech
1. What symptoms does Dimmesdale have, which cause his friends to worry?
2.
Why do Chillingworth and Dimmesdale become roommates?
3.
What reasons do some people have for suspecting that Chillingworth is evil?
4.
Explain the significance of this chapter’s title.
Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864)
Study guide: The Scarlet Letter
English 10 Adv
Mosiondz
Chapter 10: The Leech and his Patient
1. Paraphrase the leech’s story about the “ugly weeds.” Why does he tell his patient this story?
2.
What diagnosis does the leech give his patient? How does the patient respond to this suggestion?
3.
What do you think the leech sees that causes him to have “a wild look of wonder, joy, and horror”?
4.
Explain the significance of this chapter’s title.
Chapter 11: The Interior of a Heart
1. Why do you think Dimmesdale see his situation as that of a victim “forever on the rack”?
2.
Paraphrase the sermon that Dimmesdale secretly wishes to deliver from his pulpit.
3.
What hangs in Dimmesdale’s secret closet, and why is it there?
4.
Explain the significance of this chapter’s title.
Chapter 12: The Minister’s Vigil
1. Where does Dimmesdale go to conduct his vigil? What sound does he make, and who hears it, and why does it
cause one of these people look up?
2.
Describe the symbol that appears in the sky. What connection does this have to the people on the scaffold and
the man on his deathbed?
3.
What does the sexton find the next morning, and what explanation is given for its presence?
4.
Explain the significance of this chapter’s title.