The Scarlet Letter
By Nathaniel Hawthorne
English 11A
Reading Schedule
Background
Pre-Reading
Reading Directions/Requirements
Resources
Analyses
The Scarlet Letter: Reading Schedule
Date
Monday, 4/6/15
Tuesday, 4/7/15
Wednesday, 4/8/15
Thursday, 4/9/15
Friday, 4/10/15
Date
Monday, 4/13/15
Tuesday, 4/14/15
Wednesday, 4/15/15
Thursday, 4/16/15
Friday, 4/17/15
Date
Monday, 4/20/15
Tuesday, 4/21/15
Wednesday, 4/22/15
Thursday, 4/23/15
Friday, 4/24/15
Date
Monday, 4/27/15
Tuesday, 4/28/15
Wednesday, 4/29/15
Thursday, 4/30/15
Friday, 5/1/15
Reading Assignment
Background Information
Transcendentalism; Packet
requirements and directions
Pre-reading discussion/debate
Lab
Read Ch. 1-3 and complete packet
requirements
DUE
End of class
End of class
Reading Assignment
Read Ch. 4-6 and complete packet
requirements
Read Ch. 7-9 and complete packet
requirements
Read Ch. 10-12 and complete packet
requirements
Read Ch. 13-15 and complete packet
requirements
Read Ch. 16-18 and complete packet
requirements
DUE
Tuesday, 4/14/15
Reading Assignment
Lab-Research Rough Drafts due at
end of period
Read Ch. 19-21 and complete packet
requirements
Read Ch. 22-23 and complete packet
requirements
Reread/Review-we will read the final
chapter (24) in class tomorrow
Final Discussion-essay prompts handed
out (choose a prompt, begin to prep)
DUE
End of period
Reading Assignment
Review
Objective Exam
Lab-Scarlet Essay Work OR
Research Edits for Final Draft
Scarlet Essays DUE
Lab-Research Final Drafts DUE
End of class
End of class
Monday, 4/13/15
Wednesday, 4/15/15
Thursday, 4/16/15
Friday, 4/17/15
Monday, 4/21/15
Wednesday, 4/22/15
Thursday, 4/23/15
Tuesday, 4/24/15
Test-4/28; Essay
DUE-4/30
DUE
N/A
End of class
Scarlet Essay due-4/30
Research Final Draft due-5/1
Beginning of class
End of class
The Author: Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne had a low __________ of autobiography and
refrained from writing one. In fact, his wife once said, “He had a horror
that his life would be written.” Although Hawthorne did not write the
_________ of his life, he left behind a wealth of material—journals,
letters, unfinished manuscripts, and published works—that
___________ who he was and how he lived. Hawthorne was born in
Salem, Massachusetts. Generations of Hathornes—as the name was
formerly spelled—had lived in Salem.
Hawthorne was well aware of their __________ in the community, though that status was not
always admirable. For example, Hawthorne lived with the knowledge that his great-greatgrandfather, a __________ in the 1692 Salem witch trials, was responsible for the deaths of
some of the accused witches. Scholars have concluded that Hawthorne keenly felt the burden
of his ancestry and assumed the ___________ of his Puritan grandfathers. When Hawthorne
was four years old, his father, a sea captain, died while on a voyage. Hawthorne’s mother,
Elizabeth, took the boy and his two sisters to live with her affluent brothers. In this chaotic,
crowded, multiple-family home, young Hawthorne somehow managed to foster a love of
__________.
After graduating from college, he did not assume a career. He knew only that he was
determined to one day become a ____________. His first literary work, begun during
college, was titled Fanshawe. He used his own money to have it published, but soon decided
it simply wasn’t good enough to be made ____________, and so he tried to destroy all the
copies that had been printed. All told, Hawthorne spent a dozen years after college reading
and writing. He lived with his mother in Salem during this period.
Gradually, he met with __________; he sold some short stories, which were published under
a pseudonym. Finally, in 1837, he published Twice-Told Tales, a collection of short stories,
under his own name. Hawthorne continued to write short stories for magazines, but he made
only a __________ living. After marrying Sophia Peabody in 1842, he appealed to several
friends for help in finding a job, and they were able to obtain for him a position at the Salem custom house. He lost his job in 1848, a circumstance that he ____________ and wrote about
in “The Custom-House,” the introductory chapter of The Scarlet Letter.
Soon after he lost his job, his _________ died. In the midst of his grief, he wrote The Scarlet
Letter, which was published in 1850. Hawthorne himself felt it to be a gloomy story about a
risky subject, but the book met with some ___________, eventually ensuring Hawthorne’s
place in literary history. Though Hawthorne achieved fame, he was not necessarily
comfortable playing the role of revered author. He was shy and avoided making _____
__________ with people. At home, he was likely to head out the back door if he knew a
guest had arrived at the front door. At times he was playful,
almost childlike, and unconcerned about ____________. Yet he was a good friend to other
authors, including Herman Melville, who dedicated Moby Dick to him. More than a century
after his death, Hawthorne is still known as a father of American literature. From this man
came, according to Henry James, “the finest piece of _____________ writing yet put forth”
in America.
The Scarlet Letter: Background
The Novel
Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter in an astonishingly short period of time—between
the fall of 1849 when his mother died and February 3, 1850, when he repeatedly read the
conclusion of the novel to his wife. It tells the story of Hester Prynne, a young woman, in
the ___________ town of Boston in the mid-1600s. Hester, found guilty of adultery, is
sentenced to wear a scarlet letter A on her chest for the rest of her life. The story also
involves her daughter, her daughter’s father, and her husband, who arrives in Boston after
a __________ absence. Using these circumstances as the framework for his novel,
Hawthorne weaves around his characters a psychologically powerful tale of the
consequences of breaking a _________ code. Skillfully, Hawthorne investigates how
guilt and sin operate on the innermost workings of his characters’ minds. Literary
scholars have hailed Hester Prynne as the first true ___________ of American literature.
Hawthorne characterizes her as a whole person—woman, mother, sinner, and member of
the community—rather than as a ____________, as so many writers at that time cast their
female characters. In an era when most novelists were concerned with detailed portrayals
of the outside physical world, Hawthorne presented mental and emotional ___________.
In a critical analysis of Hawthorne, Roy R. Male, English professor at the
University of Oklahoma, writes: Hawthorne possessed what one of his friends called “the
awful power of __________,” and his fiction remains valuable chiefly because of its
penetration into the essential truths of the human heart. Preferring to concentrate on the
_________, often hidden areas of the human psyche, Hawthorne turns a scrutinizing eye
on the thought processes and emotions that occur within the mind of the ____________.
Even the otherwise modest Hawthorne admitted that “some portions of the book are
powerfully written.” Readers and reviewers agreed with him in spite of its subject
matter, which was considered very risqué in the mid-________s.


Themes:
o Alienation
o Appearance vs. ___________
o Breaking Society’s Rules
Hawthorne’s Style:
o Theory of the romance as a literary form-examining the __________ of
human conduct
o Use of ___________-something which is used to stand for something else
o Writes clean, precisely and effectively
o Use of ___________ materials and figures as a part of the setting-some of
his ancestors were powerful during the early history of Puritan
Massachusetts
o Use of ___________-he casts doubt on his own story as he has told it
Time and Place
The Scarlet Letter is set in the mid-1600s in _________, which had been founded only
about two decades earlier. In 1630, hundreds of newly arrived Puritans established a
number of settlements in Massachusetts. The Puritan movement began in the 1500s
among people who believed that the Church of England was too much ____________ by
the Crown and the Catholic Church. As Protestants, the Puritans rejected the belief that
__________ authority is channeled through any one particular person, such as a pope.
Puritans believed that people had the power to receive _____________ enlightenment
directly from the teachings of the Bible. The kings and queens of England did not always
agree with the Puritans. When Charles I closed Parliament in 1629 and pressured Puritan
members to ___________, some Puritans traveled to the American colonies to gain
religious freedom and establish new lives.
These residents of Boston in the mid-1600s were much as Hawthorne depicts themhardworking and _____________ to their way of life. Their society had been carved out
for them by John Winthrop, the first governor of Massachusetts and a resident of Boston.
As a leader of the first residents of the colony, he established a ____________ based on a
combination of religious and _________ ideals. The colony was intended to be an ideal
Christian community.
Historical Commentary: The Puritans
 Separatists believed that the Church of England was __________ and therefore
Christians must separate themselves
 Believed in a “pure” ____________ of the Bible which did not include some of
the traditional practices of the Church of England
 Religion and government were closely intertwined
 Ministers __________ all affairs concerning the settlement and its citizens
 Strict rules against theater, religious _________, sensuous poetry, and frivolous
dress.
Puritan Ideals:
1. United devotion to Christianity
2. Government will address both civil and religious matters
3. The good of the public is greater than the good of the individual
4. Service to the Lord improves lives
5. If you break the bond with community or God, you will suffer from God
The Language
In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne tells the story using vocabulary and a writing style
familiar to readers in 1850. The speech of the characters in the story, however, is that of
Puritans in the early 1600s.
For example:
Behold, verily, there is the woman of the scarlet letter, and, of a truth moreover, there is
the likeness of the scarlet letter running along by her side! Come, therefore, and let us
fling mud at them! (p. 103)
The U.S. Custom House in Salem: Introduction
In 1850 Nathaniel Hawthorne
published The Scarlet Letter--a dark,
brooding novel of hidden _______
and expiation. Fearing that the novel
was too dark, he prefaced it with a
short, ____________ introduction:
"The Custom House" sketch.
Hawthorne had actually worked in
the Custom House as Surveyor, from
1846-1849. In his introductory
sketch, he leads the reader up to the
building and through the first story
offices, in a literary virtual _______.
Finally, he brings the reader to the
Exterior of the Salem Custom House, 2000
musty and cobwebbed second floor
(photography by Aaron Toleos)
where, he solemnly assures us, he
discovered the ____________ records that became the novel, The Scarlet Letter.
Hawthorne's description of the Custom House emphasizes the nearby dilapidated
wharves and decayed wooden warehouses crumbling to ruin and his ___________
"cobwebbed and dingy with old paint." Hawthorne offers us an almost gothic Custom
House, a fitting element in the introduction to a romance novel.
The Custom House is, in fact, an airy, handsome structure, flooded with ___________.
This is characteristic of Federal period buildings. Hawthorne does recognize these
qualities when he describes the building as "a spacious edifice of brick" and mentions the
lofty height of the ceiling in his office.
Page citation: http://www.hawthorneinsalem.org/page/10121/
Video Reference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZzQOuEj2mc&list=PLuDdYPrPKDCjV12VZINgeC
Q4-DyLBespZ
The Scarlet Letter: Transcendentalism
Transcendentalism is a school of thought that began to take form in New England, mainly
Concord, MA around 1836 when Ralph Waldo Emerson published Nature. Major
thinkers in the Transcendentalist Movement include: Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry
David Thoreau, Bronson Alcott. It was a part of a larger literary movement called
Romanticism, which emphasized the importance of nature, the emotions and
individualism.
The protagonist Hester Prynne displays many acts of civil disobedience throughout the
course of the novel. Hawthorne often criticizes the Puritan society that punishes her so
harshly. The themes displayed in the novel relate very closely to the ideas espoused by
the great transcendental thinkers:

Civil Disobedience:
o The individual is important, inherently good and has free will

Self-Reliance:
o Conscience, morality and intuition are present at birth
o Intuition is what one must use to perceive basic truths
o Each individual is connected to God

Nature as a Reflection of God:
o God is omnipresent
o One of the best ways to connect to God is to study nature
----------------
Analytical Reading Directions and Requirements
1. Read each assigned chapter, mark annotations in text and/or take
notes as you read-make sure you are noting literary elements as you
see them (specifically look for mood, motif, juxtaposition,
verisimilitude, irony and of course themes)
 (optional) Reference outside reading materials for clarity,
interpretations and evaluations
 (optional, but recommended) Complete the assigned study guide
2. Complete the following analyses from your packet as you read the
novel (you may skip around, but at least one entry should be
included for each assigned reading)
a. Character Analysis
b. #Hawthorne
c. Transcendentalism Connections
d. Symbolism
3. Create a list of questions that can be contributed toward a reading
quiz as well as class discussion:
o 5 Objective-main events from the assigned chapters, major
contributions toward plot that would be included in a summary
and can be completed with a short, specific answer. At any
time, these may be called upon for a formative quiz.
o 1 Subjective-an open ended questions that, while addressing
events from the assigned chapters, focus more on analysis
and/or character development and theme. At any time, these
may be called upon to begin discussion.
Prereading
Respond thoughtfully to the following questions and statements. As always, every
opinion/argument is only as strong as its support so include specific evidence where necessary.
1. Write down some labels that exist in your society and/or environment. Note whether
they have positive or negative connotations.
2. Write about a time when you saw or experienced feeling left out, shunned, cast aside, or
in some other way alienated. How was it handled? Was it overcome? Did it have lasting
effects?
3. “The truth will set you free” is a belief espoused by many. Do you believe in this
statement?
4. If your partner betrays (cheats on) you, is revenge necessary?
5.
Many people are denied jobs, homes, even opportunities for friendship, because they
have been found guilty of a betrayal. How long should a person be punished for a
mistake?
6. How does today’s society respond to guilt, sin, adultery? You might draw on
television shows (such as reality TV); governmental and religious arenas; or
experience with fellow students, ministers, adults, etc. in order to formulate a
response.
7. Which, in life, is better to base decisions on-instinct or experience?
8. Choose which quote most speaks to you and respond to it.




“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
-Socrates (philosopher)
“We prefer a meaningless collective guilt to a meaningful individual responsibility.” Thomas Szasz (psychiatrist)
“Man is wise…when he recognizes no greater enemy than himself.” -Margaret of
Navarre (Princess of France)
“The strongest man in the world is he who stands most alone.” -Henrik Ibsen (author)
Resources
and
Analyses
Vocabulary
The Scarlet Letter is full of descriptive, complex vocabulary that you may not be
particularly familiar with. While still using your context clues to make an inference
about the word, this list will provide a point of reference as your read.
Chapters 1-3
1. beadle (n.): a minor church official who ushers or helps preserve order during
services
2. contumely (n.): insulting display of contempt in word or action; a humiliating insult
3. ignominy (n.): total loss of dignity; disgrace; shame
4. inauspicious (adj.): unfavorable; boding ill
5. mien (n.): a person’s general appearance or carriage; often indicates a person’s mood
or state of mind
6. physiognomies (n.): faces; the outward appearance of things
7. pillory (n.): a wooden framework with holes for securing the head and hands,
designed to expose a criminal to public ridicule or abuse
8. remonstrance (n.): an argument in protest of; complaint; objection
9. sagacity (n.): wisdom, profound knowledge and insight to the world
10. vie (v.): to compete; to struggle for dominance or control
Chapters 4-6
1. anathemas (n.): curses; denunciations; bad wishes
2. draught (n.): a drink; a dose; that which is taken in by drinking or inhaling
3. efficacy (n.): effectiveness; capacity for producing effects
4. expostulation (n.): complaint; earnest protest
5. gesticulation (n.): an animated or exercised gesture; gestures made in an excited
manner especially with or instead of speech
6. paramour (n.): illicit lover; a beloved person
7. phantasmagoric (adj.): displaying an optical illusion; imagining changing scenes
8. quaff (v.): to drink heartily
9. sable (adj. or n.): dark and somber; mourning garments
10. uncongenial (adj.): disagreeable; not compatible; not pleasing; not well-suited
Chapters 7-9
1. cabalistic (adj.): mystic; occult
2. chirurgical (adj.): surgical
3. contagion (n.): the ready transmission or spread, as of an attitude, idea or emotion
from person to person; harmful or undesirable contact or influence
4. deportment (n.): demeanor; conduct; behavior
5. despondent (adj.): dispirited; feeling or showing profound hopelessness;
discouraged
6. emaciated (adj.): gradually wasted away; abnormally thin, marked by lack of
nutrition or disease
7. erudition (n.): knowledge acquired by study or research; learning; scholarship
8. imperious (adj.): dictatorial; urgent; commanding
9. leech (n.): a person who clings to another for personal gain; parasite; also a name for
a doctor in the 1600s; (v.): to cling and to feed upon so as to drain
10. pestilence (n.): a deadly epidemic disease; something harmful or evil
Chapters 10-12
1. demerits (n.): punishments for wrongdoing
2. ethereal (adj.): light or airy; tenuous; extremely delicate or refined
3. expiation (n.): the means by which atonement or reparation is made
4. inextricable (adj.): incapable of being disentangled, undone, loosed, or solved;
hopelessly intricate, involved, or perplexing
5. inimical (adj.): harmful; hostile; unfriendly
6. ominous (adj.): foreboding; threatening; portending to evil or harm
7. portent (n.): ominous significance; an indication or omen of something momentous
about to happen
8. scurrilous (adj.): insulting; offensive; vulgar; grossly or obscenely abusive
9. somnambulism (n.): sleepwalking; performing acts while asleep
10. zenith (n.): the highest point or state; culmination; the point in the sky directly
above the observer
Chapters 13-15
1. asperity (n.): harshness; severity in tone; roughness
2. austerity (n.): stern coldness in appearance and manner; without excess or
ornamentation
3. despotic (adj.): holding absolute power; autocratic; tyrannical
4. effluence (n.): something that flows out; emanation; outward expression
5. enigma (n.): a person of contradicting or puzzling character; riddle; problem
6. gibe (n.): mocking words; taunts
7. innate (adj.): existing in one from birth; inborn; native; originating in something;
not learned
8. petulant (adj.): showing sudden impatience or irritation
9. proffered (v.): offered or proposed for one’s acceptance or rejection
10. requital (n.): a return or reward for service; kindness
Chapters 16-18
1. colloquy (n.): a dialogue; conversational exchange; conference
2. consecration (n.): the act of giving sacramental character; dedication to the service
and worship of God; sacredness
3. denizen (n.): an inhabitant; resident
4. dryad (n.): a deity or nymph of the woods
5. harrowed (v.): disturbed keenly or painfully; distressed the mind
6. hillock (n.): a little hill
7. loquacity (n.): talkativeness; chattiness; state of talking freely
8. meditative (adj.): contemplative; deeply thoughtful
9. transmuting (v.): transforming; changing from one form to another
10. vestige (n.): a mark, trace or visible evidence of something that is no longer present
or in existence
Chapters 19-21
1. depredation (n.): the act of preying upon or plundering; robbery; ravage
2. disquietude (n.): uneasiness; the state of disturbance
3. jocularity (n.): state or quality of being facetious or joking; a funny remark
4. languor (n.): physical weakness or faintness; lack of energy; lack of spirit;
sluggishness
5. obeisance (n.): a bow or curtsey; a movement of the body expressing deep respect
6. potentate (n.): one who possesses power or dominion; monarch; ruler
7. prattle (v.): to utter by chattering or babbling; to talk in a simple-minded or foolish
way
8. preternatural (adj.): out of the natural or ordinary course of nature; abnormal;
exceptional
9. uncouth (adj.): unmannerly; awkward; clumsy; of ungraceful appearance
10. vicissitude (n.): a change or variation in the course of something
Chapters 22-24
1. apotheosize (v.): to glorify or exalt someone or something; deify
2. audacity (n.): boldness or daring without regard for personal safety
3. contiguous (adj.): touching; in close proximity with; close by
4. erratic (adj.): eccentric; deviating from the proper or usual course in conduct or
opinion
5. gait (n.): a manner of walking, stepping, or running
6. indefatigable (adj.): incapable of being tired out; not tiring
7. morion (n.): helmet worn by common soldiers in the 16th and 17th centuries
8. necromancy (n.): the art of divination through communication with the dead;
witchcraft
9. pathos (n.): pity or compassion
10. repugnance (n.): strong distaste or aversion; objection; antipathy
The Scarlet Letter: Study Guide
Chapters 1-2
1. Colors and specific items add to the emphasis on rigidity and aged gloom. Give
three examples of these descriptions.
2. According to Hawthorne, what is the purpose of the rosebush, and what does it
symbolize?
3. Give the details of the setting in this chapter.
4. This picture reinforces the setting of chapter 1. Locate words that indicate the
sterness and unbending outlook of puritans, an emphasis which Hawthorne
repeats throughout the novel.
5. How are the women portrayed?
6. The Rev. Master Dimmesdale is described as “taking it very grievously to heart
that such a scandal should have come upon his congregation.” Give one possible
interpretation of this statement.
7. How is Hester different in physical appearance from the other women?
8. Explain the significance of this difference.
9. How is the scarlet letter designed?
10. Report who and what Hester sees in her flashback.
Chapters 3, 4, 5
11. Identify the man “small in stature.”
12. Locate two ironical statements, and explain their significance.
13. Give several characteristics attributed to the Rev. Mr. Dimmesdale as well as
characteristics of his physical appearance.
Chapters 3, 4, 5 (con’t)
14. When Hester refuses to reveal the name of her child’s father, what does
Dimmesdale say and do?
15. Why does John Wilson find Dimmesdale’s statement odd?
16. Report Chillingworth’s attitude towards Hester. Give a quotation to support your
statement.
17. Chillingworth’s attitude softens when he also notes, “It was my folly…what had I
to do with youth and beauty like thine own?...how could I delude myself with the
idea that intellectual gifts might veil physical deformity in a young girl’s
fantasy?” Tell what he means.
18. State the request that Chillingworth makes of Hester. What possible motives may
he have had for this action?
19. Agreeing to Chillingworth’s request, Hester feels that she may have bargained for
the ruin of her soul. Chillingworth responds with a smile and these words: “Not
thy soul,…No, not thine!” State the meaning of the last three words.
20. Explain the statement the Hester will be “the general symbol at which the
preacher and moralist might point.”
21. Give at least two reasons why Hester remains in the village to endure the scorn of
the townspeople.
22. How does Hester use her needlework?
Chapter 6
23. How is Pearl a symbol of her mother’s warring spirit?
Chapter 7
24. Give two examples of how Pearl is the scarlet letter personified.
25. The letter and Pearl are reflected in the breastplate in the governor’s hall. Tell
how this reflection affects Hester.
26. Report one additional personality characteristic that is revealed about Pearl.
Chapter 8
27. When Governor Bellingham recommends taking Pearl from Hester, what
argument does she use for continuing to have Pearl in her care?
28. What persuasion does Hester use in appealing to Arthur Dimmesdale?
29. Report Dimmesdale’s response to Hester’s plea.
30. Chillingworth says, “You speak, my friend, with a strange earnestness.” Explain
what that statement reveals/foreshadows about Dimmesdale and Chillingworth.
31. Chillingworth, still obsessed with discovering Pearl’s father, speculates on
analyzing Pearl’s nature as a hint of her father’s identity. What is Mr. Wilson’s
reaction to that speculation?
32. The following are two statements about Pearl, one spoken by Mr. Wilson and one
a commentary by Hawthorne: “The little baggage hath witchcraft in her…” and
“Even thus early had the child saved her from Satan’s snare.” Explain the paradox
in those two statements.
Chapter 9
33. Locate at least two perceptions about Chillingworth that are ironic. Explain the
irony.
34. Explain the meaning ad significance of the following statement by Chillingworth:
“Wherever there is a heart and intellect, the diseases of the physical frame are
tinged with the peculiarities of these.”
Chapter 9 (con’t)
35. Referring to Chillingworth’s history and appearance, give two points that
contribute to the prejudice that some people hold against him.
Chapter 10
36. Chillingworth is described as “a miner searching for gold.” Interpret this
description.
37. State the effects that this investigation has on Dimmesdale.
38. What does Dimmesdale say about confessing “miserable secrets”?
39. State the reasons that Dimmesdale gives, on the other hand, for a person’s
concealing a secret.
40. Chillingworth pursues his “investigation” further, and one afternoon he thrusts
aside Dimmesdale’s robe, exposing Dimmesdale’s chest. Quote Chillingworth’s
reaction.
Chapter 11
41. Describe the contrast between Chillingworth’s demeanor and his inner feelings.
Also, report the effect he has on Dimmesdale.
42. Explain the irony regarding Dimmesdale’s success and/or failure as a minister.
43. When Dimmesdale actually does admit his sinfulness to his congregation, how do
his hearers react?
44. What does Dimmesdale envision Hester doing?
45. What conclusion can be drawn about Dimmesdale from his various actions
reported above?
Chapter 12
46. Describe the atmosphere at the scaffold.
47. As Dimmesdale stands on the scaffold, what does he imagine?
48. Why has he placed himself on the scaffold?
49. Hester and Pearl join Dimmesdale, What is Hawthorne suggesting?
50. The narrator presents several possible explanations for the light in the sky. Which
one does the narrator seem to favor?
51. Roger Chillingworth stands at the foot of the scaffold. How does he explain his
presence?
Chapter 13
52. Another aspect of Hester’s character is presented here—as almost a Sister of
Mercy. Report some of her deeds.
53. On the other hand, what qualities of Hester seem to be diminishing during these
years of wearing the scarlet letter? What causes these changes?
Chapter 14 & 15
55. Why does Hester plan to meet with Chillingworth?
56. How much time has elapsed since chapter 1?
57. How does Chillingworth seem to Hester at this point? Give two specific
examples.
58. Chillingworth admits that he has changed. What does he say?
59. Hester asks permission to reveal Chillingworth’s identity to Dimmesdale. She
also asks that Chillingworth pardon her and Dimmesdale. Briefly report
Chillingworth’s response.
Chapter 15
60. Pearl questions the letter and the minister’s hand over his heart. Hester responds
that Pearl is being silly. Is Hester uncaring? Heartless? Evasive? Stupid? State and
defend your opinion.
Chapter 16
61. Explain the symbolic significance of the following items:
a. The footpath
b. The sunshine
c. The black man
d. The brook
62. Pearl perceptively questions Dimmesdale’s appearance. What does she ask?
63. When Dimmesdale is with the townspeople, he appears and behaves one way.
When he is alone in the forest, he appears and behaves another way. Explain the
difference.
Chapter 17
64. This scene opens in a gloomy and unearthly atmosphere. List some of the clues
that suggest this atmosphere.
65. Explain the references to laughter in Dimmesdales’s statement, “I have laughed.
In bitterness and agony of heart, at the contrast between what I seem and what I
am! And Satan laughs at it!”
66. Report Hester’s feelings toward Dimmesdale.
67. How does Dimmesdale react to the news that Chillingworth was her husband?
Chapter 18
68. Why is the minister more hemmed in my rules than Hester?
69. What, therefore, does Dimmesdale decide to do?
Chapter 18
70. Provide an interpretation of this chapter title, “A Flood of Sunshine”.
71. Give two examples of how Nature seems to be in sympathy with Pearl.
Chapter 19
72. This chapter contains many examples of paradox. Give at least two examples.
73. Tell how the personified trees and brook re-establish a mood of gloom.
Chapter 20-21
74. State briefly the “escape” plan.
75. The following statement refers to Dimmesdale, “No man for any considerable
period can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally
getting bewildered as to which may be the true.” Tell what this means.
76. Dimmesdale’s perspective on life is changing radically; he fantasizes his
outrageous behavior with church members. List the people whom he actually
encounters and tell how these people and Arthur’s fantasizing help you to
understand his past and present character.
77. Why is Demmesdale’s encounter with Mistriss Hibbins important?
78. Explain the dramatic irony in the conversation between Chillingworth and
Dimmesdale.
79. Hawthorne writes, “Children have always a sympathy int eh agitations of those
connected with them.” Explain how Pearl illustrates this statement.
80. Pearl makes a statement about Dimmesdale which touches on the irony in his
relationship with them. What does she say?
81. Why does Chillingworth’s smile “convey secret and fearful meaning”?
Chapter 22
82. What effect does Dimmesdale’s distracted bahvior have on Hester?
83. Tell how this scene comes full circle from the scenes of the first two chapters.
84. The scarlet letter which Hester wears is a focus for considerable public attention.
Why is this focus ironic?
Chapter 23
85. Dimmesdale’s listeners consider his sermon as inspirational. What is their
evaluation of his character? Explain the irony is that assessment.
86. The following quotation is ironic. It also reveals Hawthorne’s tone. “Such was
the exalted position which the minister occupied. Meanwhile Hester Prynne was
standing beside the scaffold of the pillory, with the scarlet letter still burning on
her breast!” Explain the irony and tone.
87. Dimmesdale’s redeeming action is the climax of the novel. Briefly report what
happens.
88. Dimmesdale describes his impending death as “triumphant ignominy”. Explain
this paradox.
Chapter 24
89. Briefly state what happens to these persons after Dimmesdale’s death:
a. Chillingworth:
b. Hester:
c. Pearl
90. Quoting directly from this chapter, state the theme.
91. Explain the symbolism of the tombstone.
#Hawthorne’s Words of Wisdom
We will create a class list of Hawthorne quotes. As you read, select quotes that suggest a
general idea of or about how people should live their lives. Choose quotes that you are
particularly interested in or that you have a connection with. Then, translate the quote to
contemporary text by creating a hash tag phrase. A minimum of five quotes/hash tags
are required for the entire text. Examples include:
“To the untrue man, the whole universe is false” (142).
#yougetwhatyougive #karma
“No man for any considerable period can wear one face to himself and another to the
multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true” (203).
#beyourself #fakeitdon’tmakeit
Quote
Hashtag
Transcendentalism Connections
Review the fundamentals of transcendentalism below. As you read the novel, connect
specific events and/or the actions of Hester Prynne to each ideal. Provide an example
(quotes or events) from the text in order to prove that this is a transcendentalist
work. As always, include citation for each reference.

Transcendentalism allows one to think for himself/herself.

Transcendentalists ignore the influences of others.

Transcendentalists try to find themselves through nature. Nature cannot influence
a human to think a certain way. Nature actually reveals what a person really feels
without any thoughts that are not from him/her mind.

Transcendentalists believe in “over-soul”, the theory that everything is connected.

Transcendentalism is about transforming or changing
The Scarlet Letter: Symbolism
In addition to using Transcendentalism as a historical context and lens for the novel, this
text is a wonderful tool with which to identify and analyze symbolism. Each of the
following symbols hold a significant representation toward a character and/or the theme
of the novel. As you read the novel and see the symbols used, identify their
representation, explain their significance and provide a quote with citation for
evidence.
Symbol/
Representation
Prison
Grass Plot
Wild Rosebush
The Brook
Letter A
Scaffold
Night
Day (“noontide”)
Sun
The Forest
Pearl
Significance
Quote With Citation