English 11, 6.0
Scarlet Letter Test Review
What should I review for the test?
 Author’s Connection to Plot, Publication Date, Literary Movements of the time
 We spent a full class period with Chapter 1. Go back and review the first chapter for its
significance to the overall novel, introduction of symbols, author’s tone, and mood
amidst Puritan society.
 Closely re-read the closing scenes of Chapter 23 as Dimmesdale comes to grips with his
sin and mounts the scaffold for scaffold scene #3. Review key dialogue in this scene and
examine what it reveals about the characters involved.
 Review how plot developments and characters work to develop the following themes:
 Isolation
The Nature of Evil
Guilt Over Secret Sin
Vengeance
Individuality
 Be familiar with Hawthorne’s style and consistent patterns in his writing, such as his
implementation of:
Symbolism, Imagery, Expansive Sentence Construction, Word Choice/Diction,
Various Examples of Figurative Language
 Elements of the Novel: (Be able to identify how certain developments/ passages
correlate to the following elements:
o UNDERSTANDING THE COMPLEXITY OF PEARL
o SIN, GUILT, and PUNISHMENT – Effect on the Soul
o DARKNESS OF ROGER CHILLINGWORTH
o CHILLINGWORTH’S ASSESSMENT OF HESTER’S SIN
o NATURE OF THE HEART
o CHILLINGWORTH’S VENGEANCE and the TRANSPARENCY OF THE HUMAN HEART
o CHILLINGWORTH’S DARK PURPOSES and the PRESENCE OF EVIL
o HETSER’S STRENGTH
o EXTERNAL CONSEQUENCES OF SIN/PUNISHMENT
o HESTER’S DECISION TO REMAIN IN BOSTON (Inner Resolve/ Atonement/
Dimmesdale
o HESTER’S COTTAGE – ISOLATION- INDIVIDUAL vs SOCIETY
o ATONEMENT (HESTER’S NEEDLEWORK) / HESTER’S MYSTIQUE IN THE TOWN
o HESTER’S ATONEMENT / PLAIN APPEARANCE vs PEARL
o AMBIGUITY/ ALLEGORY/SYMBOLISM
o TRANSCENDENTALISM – Forest vs Town
 Characters, their development, their purpose, their “spheres”
o Hester Prynne
o Roger Chillingworth
o Arthur Dimmesdale
o Pearl
o Gov. Bellingham
o Rev. Wilson
o Mistress Hibbins
 Passages from Ch. 16-18 (part of a class handout on my website)
FORMAT – all multiple choice
Passages and Questions, General MC Questions
Quote identifications, MC Questions about theme,