CHAPTERS 7 AND 8
Miss Emily
Miss Sami
Miss Sarah
CHAPTER 7 SUMMARY
• Hester Prynne and Pearl are going to Governor Bellingham’s mansion to
deliver a pair of gloves and to discuss the rumors of Pearl being taken away
from her. On their way there, they are ambushed by a group of children
who fling mud at them. Pearl threw a tantrum and frightens the children
away. Once they arrive at the house, the narrator goes into vivid detail
about the mansion’s antique qualities. The keeper, who isn’t aware of who
Hester is, lets them inside. Inside the mansion, Pearl spots a suit of armor and
is fascinated. When Hester turns to the shiny armor, her “A” is magnified to
where it’s the prominent reflection. Moving on from there, they go to the
garden, but Pearl begins crying at the sight of the rosebush. She quiets
down when the men approach the house.
CHAPTER 8 SUMMARY
• Hester sees Bellingham, Wilson, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth enter the
room. After they tease Pearl, they threaten to take her away from Hester to
ensure she is taught the correct Christian values. Hester argues to keep Pearl
by saying she can teach Pearl the faith through her mistakes and trials, but
also by saying Pearl is a daily reminder of the sin she committed. To question
her faith, Wilson asks Pearl who made her. She hesitates to answer, but finally
says she had “not been made at all, but had been plucked by her mother
off the bush of wild roses that grew by the prison door.” They continue to try
and take Pearl away from Hester, but Hester argues passionately. During the
argument she calls Dimmesdale out to defend her. He backs her up. They
agree to let Hester keep Pearl while they pray about the situation. After they
leave, Hester and Pearl are confronted by Mistress Hibbins. She asks them to
attend a witch gathering. Hester denies the offer.
CHARACTER ANALYSIS
• Hester Prynne: She is fierce and brave as she fights to keep Pearl.
• Pearl: She is a beautiful child, but she is restless, moody, and stubborn. She is
“the very brightest little jet of flame that ever danced upon the earth.”
• Roger Chillingworth: He is very mysterious and skeptical. He evilly smirks at
many comments regarding Hester and Dimmesdale.
• Dimmesdale: He feels obligated to stand up for Hester and shows loyalty by
defending everything Hester says.
• John Wilson: He is an old minister. He has a snow white beard and is
grandfather-like.
• Governor Bellingham: He has a gray beard and wears old fashioned royal
clothes. He is unfriendly.
• Mistress Hibbins: She is governor Bellingham’s sister. She is bitter-tempered
and is a witch.
THEME
• Sin and knowledge: Knowledge is a direct result of sin through the learning
of one’s mistakes.
• The nature of evil: The nature of evil is found in the ones whose motives are
evil.
ROMANTIC AND PURITAN IDEAS
• The way the ministers were questioning Pearl shows how serious the Puritans
were about their Christian values. They were questioning a three year-old
about who made her; they wanted to hear the answer “God.”
• Hester shows a sense of freedom by the way she boldly stands up for herself
and her actions. She bravely fights against the town fathers to keep Pearl.
IRONY
• Mistress Hibbins, being Governor Bellingham’s sister, performs witchcraft
which is against Puritan beliefs and is not punished. Whereas Hester is being,
publicly humiliated, thrown into prison, and is threatened to have her child
taken away because of her sin. And Governor Bellingham is one of the men
punishing her.
NARRATIVE VOICE
• The narrator speaks through a free and transparent frame of reference that
is opposite of the Puritan’s views.
• Behind the scenes the narrator compliments Hester’s free spirit, which is
against the Puritan ideas for women.
SYMBOLISM AND COLOR
• Hester dresses Pearl in the exact same fabric and color as
the scarlet letter. This symbolizes that Pearl and the scarlet
letter are alike in many ways.
CAUSE AND EFFECT
• Cause:
1.
2.
Pearl answers the town fathers
by saying she “was plucked
from the rosebush.”
Dimmesdale supports Hester’s
reason for wanting to keep
Pearl.
• Effect:
1.
The men wanted to take Pearl
away from Hester because of
her unchristian-like answer.
2.
Dimmesdale convinces the
men to let Hester keep Pearl.
THE
QUIZ
QUESTION 1
Who’s mansion are Hester and Pearl going to?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Barack Obama
Governor Bellingham
Aladdin
Chillingworth
QUESTION 2
What is Hester delivering to Governor Bellingham?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Birthday present
White gloves
Hat
A brush
QUESTION 3
What is a theme of these chapters?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Fun in the Sun
Sin and knowledge
Why can’t we be friends
Nature of Evil
Both B and D
QUESTION 4
True or False?
Hester got to keep Pearl.
QUESTION 5
• Free Response Question!!
Describe Roger Chillingworth in one sentence.
ACTIVITY TIME
Your activity today is an art
contest!
Your task is to draw and color
a mansion that represents
Governor Bellingham’s. You
have 8 minutes!!! The person
with the best drawing wins the
prize!!
TIME’S UP