Section 1
Where is Hester buried?
Next to Arthur Dimmesdale.
What do members of the community like to use which Hester makes?
Her handiwork such as embroidery or the products of her sewing (clothes, etc.).
What thing is Pearl always fixated and focused on in the book?
The Scarlet Letter
What is the climax of this novel?
Dimmesdale finally confess his sins publicly and be released from his crushing guilt. This resolves various complications. For Chillingworth, his revenge is thwarted by Dimmesdale's confession. For Hester, Dimmesdale's confession means she can watch him claim Pearl as his own.
What do Hester and Dimmesdale plan to do toward the end of the novel?
Run away together.
What are Chillingsworth's plans for Dimmesdale?
He plans to keep torturing him and hopefully see him die.
What does Hester teach Pearl about beliefs?
She teaches her correct Puritan Christian beliefs.
Which character in The Scarlet Letter lives the longest? (Consider: Chillingsworth, Dimmesdale, Hester, Governor Winthrop)
Governor Winthrop because all the other characters die. Dimmesdale succumbing to his unknown illness after he confesses that he is the father of Hester's child (Ch. 23). Chillingsworth shrivels up and vanishes because without his victim he has no reason to live (Ch. 24). Hester dies and is buried next to Dimmesdale (Ch. 24).
What does the 'A' on Hester's clothing stand for?
Adultery/Adulterous
When the characters engage in actions that defy Puritan laws, where do they go to do these things?
the forest
What strange things does Pearl say in the book that make her seem eerie?
Here are a couple:
I am but a child. It will not flee from me; for I wear nothing on my bosom yet. (referring to thinking she's going to grow up to get an 'A' just like her mother)
I have no Heavenly Father!
Which characters change over the course of the novel? Explain.
Hester (arrogant to humble and kind); Dimmesdale (from lying to becoming inwardly and outwardly truthful); Pearl (from representing sin to representing freedom and love); Chillingsworth (becomes more and more angry, ugly, and deformed)
Why is Pearl named 'Pearl' in the novel? What significance or symbolism does her name hold?
This is a Biblical reference to a parable Jesus told about the "Pearl of Great Price" where a merchant finds a Pearl of great price and sells everything he has to buy it. This is a parable about the Kingdom of Heaven. (Matthew 18) In the novel, the great price that Hester must pay in order to have Pearl is her shunning from the community.
What symbols show up in this novel? (Name 3)
The Prison Door; The Rosebush; The Scarlet Letter; The Color Red; The Scaffold; Shadow and Light; The Forest; The Character of Pearl; The Juxtaposition of Dimmesdale and Chillingsworth; The Black Man; The Brook...
When does Hester take off the scarlet letter?
In Chapter 18 when she is in the forest she takes off the scarlet letter and the sun shines on her. She is thinking of leaving the community at this point.
Who says, "Preach! Write! Act! Do anything, save to lie down and die?"
Hester (to Dimmesdale)
Which characters in The Scarlet Letter are actual historical figures that lived in the past? (Consider: Arthur Dimmesdale, Governor Bellingham, Mistress Hibbins, Reverend John Wilson)
Which themes are present in the novel? (Name 3)
Sin; Punishment; Atonement; Hypocrisy; Guilt; Gender; Religion; Keeping Secrets; Shame; Compassion and Forgiveness; Isolation; Puritanism; Nature; The Nature of Evil; Damnation; Justice and Judgement; Individuality and Conformity; Gender;
Who says, "In all things else, I have striven to be true! Truth was the one virtue which I might have held fast, and did hold fast...Then I consented to a deception. But a lie is never good, even though death threaten on the other side." ?
Hester (to Dimmesdale)
Why is sunshine important in the novel?
It symbolizes truth and purity--particularly not being under a cloud of guilt and shame anymore.
Chillingsworth admits that he wronged Hester. What does he say is the way in which he wronged her?
He married her when she was young and beautiful and he was already old and decrepit.
What are the secrets that are kept in this novel and what point is Hawthorne trying to express about keeping secrets? What effect does keeping secrets have?
There are a number of secrets in the novel. First, Hester and Dimmesdale secretly have an affair and bring a daughter into the world. Next, Hester keeps this secret from her husband. Dimmesdale doesn't confess his part in the affair to his congregation. Dimmesdale also secretly self-harms due to his guilt. Chillingsworth is secretly torturing Dimmesdale. Hawthorne is telling us that secrets are poisonous and unhealthy and lead to guilt and shame and other bad outcomes.
In what ironic ways does Dimmesdale communicate with Hester as her pastor?
He speaks to her somewhat in riddles and urges her against sin, meanwhile knowing that they have sinned together.
Why does Dimmesdale feel afraid to confess his sin to his congregation? What is he afraid will happen?
He is afraid they will lose faith in God because if a minister can be tempted and fall, what hope is there for just a mere common person?
What is Nathaniel Hawthorne's writing style? How do you know?
He is a very descriptive writer and goes into great detail to provide extremely specific descriptions. He also loves symbolism and uses it frequently throughout the novel.