Higgins/Kovacs
English III Honors
The Scarlet Letter
Guiding Questions: Group Presentations
Directions: Consider the guiding questions below when designing your presentations for the class.
Group Focus Area: Archetypes/Myth/Symbols/Allegory
Essential Question: What overarching archetypes, myths, symbols and/or allegories are present in The Scarlet
Letter? How does Hawthorne use these elements to enhance your understanding of character, conflict, and theme?
Guiding Questions:

Consider how Hawthorne develops the following ideas into symbols and what does each one represent?
The rosebush, the scarlet letter, and sunshine.

How is the novel an allegory for the story of the Garden of Eden? How is Hester presented at the outset as
an “Eve” character and how does Hawthorne challenge and change this perspective? How is
Chillingworth the snake and how is he similar to the “Black Man” in Irving’s short story, “The Devil and
Tom Walker”? How is Dimmesdale Adam? What is ironic about Dimmesdale’s success as a preacher? Is
Dimmesdale a sympathetic character?

How does Pearl fit into this image? What are her magical qualities? How is Pearl related to the forest?
How does Pearl’s kiss in chapter 23 function the way a Princess’s will for a frog in fairytales?
Higgins/Kovacs
English III Honors
The Scarlet Letter
Guiding Questions: Group Presentations
Directions: Consider the guiding questions below when designing your presentations for the class.
Group Focus Area: Romanticism
Essential Question: How can The Scarlet Letter be considered a Romantic novel?
Guiding Questions:

How does the novel embody core Romantic beliefs and techniques?

How does the novel fulfill Hawthorne’s definition of romance writing from “The Custom House”?

Why is this novel a “twice told” tale? Consider the importance of “The Custom House” and the role of the
narrator in the story.

Consider the narration, the plot development, and his character development. Are there any patterns? Are
any settings repeated? Why?
Higgins/Kovacs
English III Honors
The Scarlet Letter
Guiding Questions: Group Presentations
Directions: Consider the guiding questions below when designing your presentations for the class.
Group Focus Area: Feminism
Essential Question: Hester has been called the “first American heroine.” Do you agree that Hester is a heroine?
How does Hawthorne portray the role of women in society? What message is Hawthorne advocating about
women in society?
Guiding Questions:

How is Hester portrayed as both a “sinner” and a “saint”?

How is Hester a spokesperson for women’s rights? How does her attitude toward gender equality evolve
throughout the novel?

How do the attitudes of the townspeople toward Hester change over time?

What sad transformation overcomes Hester’s body as a result of keeping her promise to Chillingworth?
What restoration occurs within the “magic circle of this hour” when Hester is alone with Dimmesdale and
how is this representative of Romantic notions of beauty?
Higgins/Kovacs
English III Honors
The Scarlet Letter
Guiding Questions: Group Presentations
Directions: Consider the guiding questions below when designing your presentations for the class.
Group Focus Area: Moral/Social Commentary/Theme
Essential Question: What morals, “lessons,” or social judgments does Hawthorne offer in the novel, either
directly through the narrative or via his characters?
Guiding Questions:

What core themes – statements about human nature – does the novel reflect?

Contrast Hawthorne’s depiction of natural settings to that of the town. Where is the only place Hester and
Dimmesdale have freedom and why? Why is Hester’s place on the outskirts of town an appropriate place
for a marked woman?

What is Hawthorne’s critique of Puritanism in the novel? How does Hawthorne present the townsfolk as
self-righteous and morally constricted? How is Hawthorne’s struggle to accept his ancestry depicted in
conflicts in the novel? Ultimately, what is his view of the Puritans and the dangers of public morality?
Higgins/Kovacs
English III Honors
The Scarlet Letter
Guiding Questions: Group Presentations
Directions: Consider the guiding questions below when designing your presentations for the class.
Group Focus Area: Psychological/Psychoanalytical Evaluation
Essential Question: How does Hawthorne attempt to describe/depict human subconscious behavior? How can we
understand a character’s hidden emotions or try to understand his/her motivations?

How can you apply your understanding of psychology to study how Hawthorne develops Chillingworth
and Dimmesdale’s behavior and the statement that Hawthorne makes about revenge?

How do intense feelings of guilt motivate people’s actions?

How do buried desires/wishes reveal themselves in people’s actions?

Can you associate any established psychological disorders/theories with any of the major characters?