English 11 Academic
Scarlet Letter Study Questions – Chapters 1-3
(Due Wednesday, 11/4)
CHAPTER 1
1.
The purpose of this chapter is to
(a) introduce the main characters
(b) set the scene and tone of the story
(c) poke fun at the Puritans
(d) tell what has happened before the story
2.
A new settlement must have
(a) a courthouse and a post office
(b) a village green and a church
(c) a prison and a cemetery
(d) a school and a hospital
3.
The prison described is in
(a) an imaginary town
(b) Boston
(c) Salem
(d) New York
4.
Near the door of the prison grows
(a) a fig tree
(b) poison ivy
(c) a lilac bush
(d) a rose bush
5.
The street in front of the prison is made of
(a) dirt
(b) cobblestones
(c) gravel
(d) blacktop
Thinking it Over
The author says that even an ideal community needs a cemetery and a prison. What does this statement imply? Do
you agree? Explain.
CHAPTER 2
1.
The purpose of this chapter is to
(a) introduce Hester and show her punishment
(b) show the cruelty of the townspeople
(c) explain why Hester wears a scarlet letter
(d) describe justice in Puritan New England
2.
A large crowd has gathered because
(a) it is market day
(b) a ship is expected from England
(c) people want to witness Hester’s punishment
(d) it is a holiday
CHAPTER 2 (cont’d)
3.
A device for punishment not mentioned is the
(a) guillotine
(b) rack
(c) pillory
(d) whipping post
4.
Hester was born and grew up
(a) in an English village
(b) in a European city
(c) in Boston
(d) on a southern plantation
5.
Part of Hester’s punishment is to
(a) have her head and hands locked in the pillory
(b) be whipped
(c) be branded
(d) stand on the scaffold for a certain time
6.
Most of the women in Boston of Boston
consider Hester’s punishment to
7.
As used in this chapter, the word gossip
most nearly means
(a) too harsh
(b) fitting
(c) shocking
(d) not harsh enough
(a) tattletales
(b) friends
(c) citizens
(d) relatives
Thinking it Over
The women of the town show less pity for Hester than the men. What kind of crime do you think would be likely to
arouse such anger in women of Puritan Boston? Why?
CHAPTER 3
1.
The chapter is mostly about
2.
The Indian who accompanies the stranger
has been acting as his
3.
Until recently, the stranger has been
(a) Hester’s earlier life
(b) the appearance of a mysterious stranger
(c) justice in Puritan Boston
(d) Hester’s naming the father of her baby
(a) servant
(b) slave
(c) guide
(d) captor
(a) a captive of the Indians
(b) in prison
(c) the survivor of a shipwreck
(d) a sea captain
CHAPTER 3 (cont’d)
4.
Hester has been living in Boston
(a) all her life
(b) about two years
(c) three or four months
(d) about ten years
5.
Master Dimmesdale is
(a) a visiting clergyman
(b) a doctor
(c) the governor of Massachusetts
(d) the pastor of a church in Boston
6.
Hester’s reaction to seeing the stranger
is best described as
7.
8.
9.
When the Governor tells Dimmesdale that it
behooves him to urge Hester to repent, he
means that it would be
The stranger with whom Hester dreads
being alone is probably
Although the author does not say so, the “A”
On Hester’s dress must stand for
(a) joy
(b) relief
(c) indifference
(d) distress
(a) the wrong thing to do
(b) the right thing to do
(c) useless to do
(d) the gentlemanly thing to do
(a) the father of her baby
(b) her husband
(c) her father
(d) a messenger
(a) adventuress
(b) adulteress
(c) author
(d) angel
Thinking it Over
When Hester refuses to name the father of her baby, Dimmesdale wonders at the “wonderful strength and generosity
of a woman’s heart.” In what way does he see her refusal as being generous? Explain.