Symbolism
Hawthorne & His Characters
Plot
more symbols
Random
100
What happens to the forest when Hester takes off her scarlet letter?
What is the sun finally shines on her
100

Why did Hawthorne change his name?

He was ashamed of his ancestor's involvement in the Salem Witchcraft Trials

100

What is the setting of The Scarlet Letter?

Boston, 1650

100

What does the brook symbolize 

Pearl's mysterious nature

100

How old is Pearl when Hester is released from prison?

What is 3 months

200
What is ironic about the very first scaffold scene?
What is Dimmesdale is called upon to ask Hester who the father is
200

Which word is used to describe Chillingworth (hint: this is the title of chapter 9)

What is a leech

200

In chapter 16, why do Hester and Pearl go to the forest?

What is to intercept Dimmesdale and reveal Chillingworth's identity

200

What does the meteor symbolize? 

To Dimmesdale it is a sign of his sin and that he should wear a letter, too. To the Puritan town, it sybolized Angel for the Governor who had just died and they believed went to Heaven. 

200

Where was Hawthorne born?

What is Salem

300
What is the "sweet moral blossom" referenced in the first chapter?
What is the Rosebush
300

Due to Dimmesdale's illness, what happens to his preaching?

What is it becomes more impassioned

300

What does Hester have to do before Pearl will come across the brook in the forest?

What is pin her letter "A" back on

300

What does Pearl symbolize?

Pearl was the living symbol of her mother's sin. She also symbolizes Hester's punishment and blessing all in one. 

300

What is ornate style?

What is complex, detailed, flowery language

400
Why is it that when Dimmesdale and Hester lock hands in the forest it is described as the "gloomiest hour?"
What is they cannot be together outside of the forest
400

When the reader first meets Chillingworth he is compared to a biblical figure.... what is he compared to?

The snake in the Garden of Eden

400

How does Chillingworth conceal his true intentions with Dimmesdale?

What is he uses his profession as a doctor and pretends to treat Dimmesdale 

400

What do red and black stand for? 

Red sybolizes passion. Black symbolizes sin, evil, the devil. "black man" "black flower"

400

What does Chillingworth say about a man who dies with a secret sin? 

Dark weeds will grow out of his heart and cover his grave

500

How does the symbolism of the scarlet letter change over the course of the novel?

What is it begins as a symbol of Hester's sin and shame, Adultery. Then it symbolizes able for her gift as a seamstress or angel for her work with the poor. 

500

What action is often made by Dimmesdale and serves as foreshadowing?

what is hand over his heart 

500

When Hester is informed that she may be able to lawfully remove the scarlet letter from her bosom, how does she respond?

What is she refuses and says only God may remove it 

500

List what the rosebush by the prison door symbolizes 

Possible interpretations include the triumph of nature over man made contrivances, a foreshadowing of Hester's blossoming under harsh Puritan rule, or the triumph of the individual against society, a common theme in American Romanticism.

500

Where do Hester and Dimmesdale plan to escape to together 

Bristol England