On Nathaniel Hawthorne:
1. When did Hawthorne write The Scarlet Letter?
2. Hawthorne was a direct descendant of what group of people?
3. Why was Hawthorne’s relationship to his heritage complicated?
On the novel:
9. In what century is The Scarlet Letter set?
11. Why is the prison at the beginning of the novel ironic?
12. What symbol has Hester embroidered into her dress?
13. Chillingworth pretends to be of what profession?
14. What does the letter A (in general) represent?
15. Where does Pearl say that she comes from when John Wilson asks?
16. What do rosebushes represent in the novel?
17. What gesture does Dimmesdale make throughout the book?
18. What does this gesture symbolize?
19. What does the meteor that appears at Dimmesdale’s vigil symbolize?
20. How is Pearl a complicated symbol?
21. Who is the Black Man? Who is he associated with?
22. What did the Puritan community hope to achieve by making Hester wear the Scarlet Letter?
23. What new meaning does the Scarlet Letter begin to take on after Hester wears it for a few years?
24. What is Hester’s response when she learns that the council might allow her to remove the letter?
25. What does darkness (night) symbolize in the novel?
26. What does light (day) symbolize?
27. What is Pearl’s “appointed mission,” according to Hester?
28. Of the four main characters, who is the worst sinner, according to Dimmesdale?
29. When is the one point in the novel where Dimmesdale seems healthy? Why is he healthy here?
30. Why does the novel suggest that revenge is a worse sin than adultery?
31. What is Pearl’s favorite question?
32. Where is Pearl best behaved?
33. What happens to Pearl at the end of the novel?
34. What is the moral of the novel, according to the text?