Teacher ___David Kerwin___________ Class English_ Date 12/10/09 Grade Level ___12__
Room Number _____235_____ Period ___9_____ Unit______The Scarlet Letter________
Lesson Number ____1____ and Topic
Character Analysis of Hester Prynne
_ __
Context
This lesson will occur after the first assigned reading. They will have to have read the first three chapters
of TSL (20 pages). Based on this section, students will have been able to pick up on character traits of the
main character, Hester Pryne.
Objectives
Short-range learning objective:
Students will demonstrate their understanding that authors use indirect characterization to develop
characters through speech, action, and appearance when they write their own analysis of another character
in The Scarlet Letter.
Long-range learning objectives:
 Students will be able to transfer their analyzing skills to looking at other characters.
 Students will be able to write an effective character analysis.
 Students will learn how character traits influence what happens in the novel.
 Students will be able to interpret actions and dialogue and apply their implications to a character
analysis.
Affective objectives (optional):
Through class and small group discussion, students will learn how collaboration can help
someone arrive at a better general knowledge.
Rationale
Administrators: During this lesson, students will learn how to effectively analyze a character through
specific references from a text, which is a transferable skill on state exams. In this lesson, students will
interpret dialogue and actions and be able to write intelligently about a story. Additionally, students will
be fulfilling an ELA standard that states, “Student will read, write, listen, and speak for information and
understanding.”
Students:
Have you ever wanted to know someone fully? What makes them “tick?” Learning about character leads
to a better understanding of the book and the message it carries. Learning about Hester Prynne will help
you to analyze and understand your own relationships better: noticing what people do, say, and how they
are described makes your world a little more understandable. Someday, when you want to write your
story, noticing and analyzing these things matter.
Critical Pedagogues:
Analyzing a character teaches the student to look deeper than the surface information that we are given
and shows them how to interpret dialogue and actions, which leads to the ability to look at the world and
people with these same skills. Also, if students can relate to and understand characters better it will make
reading a life-long pleasure.
Background Knowledge and Skills
Students have come into this lesson after completing a short self-analysis worksheet that asked them
questions about who they are and required them to describe themselves in detail.
Standards
NYS ELA Standard _2__: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for literary response and
expression.
Grade _12__ Performance Indicator (__speak___):
 Engage in a variety of collaborative conversations, such as peer-led discussions, paired reading and
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responding, and cooperative group discussions, to make applications of the ideas in the text to
other situations, extending the ideas to broaden perspectives.
Summary
I will begin the class with a fun example of how to look at character traits of a pop-culture icon. I
will then do some review on important terms. Then I will teach about the character of Hester to
provide an example of what goes into analyzing a character. The students will then get into
groups to collaborate on other parts of Hester’s character they feel needs to be explored. We will
then pool together what the groups found while looking into the text. They will end by choosing
a character to look into the next three chapters and write down questions to guide their reading.
Procedure
Anticipatory set
Introduce a big character in pop-culture, such as Paris Hilton.
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Time
5 mins
Start writing some character traits on the board about her, and then let the class
join in after you have written down a few.
Prompt the class if they have not done so to note her appearance, actions, dialogue
(That’s hot!-her catch phrase), and her reputation.
Ask class to compare this information to what they know about Hester (are there
comparisons that can be made?, etc.
Note to the students that they already make these analysis’ in real life without
knowing it.
Instruction
 Announce objective: Today we’re going to be looking at the character of Hester
Prynne.
15 mins
When you look at character you go deep into every aspect of what the writer gives you
(Write down on the board the main ideas, so students can take notes and use them to guide
their discussion and analysis).
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You look at the dialogue of the character (what she “says” and also what she
doesn’t say)
 The description of the character (how Hawthorne describes her)
 You also analyze how the character reacts to the things that happen to her in the
story (what she does).
 Look at the “whys.” If she says or does something, ask, “why?” Talk about how
what a character does or says may give you information about who they are.
 Another thing you want to look at is how Hawthorne develops her throughout the
novel?
 Look at how he uses symbols to describe her. Look at every detail, not just what is
plain and obvious. Chapter 2 gives a lot of description of Hester. The author
doesn’t use just physical details, such as hair color, what she’s wearing, etc. does
he? Although these things are important, he gets at something deeper through other
ways.
-One way the author develops the character is by allusion.
 Page 51 compares Hester and her baby to the “image of the Divine Maternity.”
 She is described as being beautiful, almost heavenly, despite what the crowd
expected her to be: downtrodden, ugly, and shameful. She defies the crowd and
their judgments in this way. The author shows us she is strong in spirit in this way.
She appears on the outside “elegant,” and has “dignity,” and an “indescribable
grace.” What does she look like compared to the people of the market place and
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the clergy? She shines compared to them. But Hawthorne reveals her inner turmoil
as well: “she had exquisite pain.”
 Look at the references made In the first chapter a reference is made to Ann
Hutchinson (paragraph 28) (Religious leader in Boston who taught that faith and
not good works or abidance by religious law brought someone closer to God. This
goes against Puritan thinking. She was excommunicated [explain what this means]
and banished to RI and later killed along with her family by some Native
Americans. She was an iconoclast, just like we will see from Hester).
-(Pause for students to answer these questions individually) How could this shine some
light on the character of Hester, before we even meet her? Do you think the author is
trying to draw a comparison?
 Explain that understanding who Hester is loosely based on will help students
understand Hester better. It will also help students understand what goes into the
making of a character. Characters in novels aren’t always conjured solely by the
author’s imagination, but historical figures sometimes influence the characters
created in fiction.
Guided Practice
 Break class up into groups of 4 and get out your writer’s notebooks (the students
will know what these are).
 The students will analyze the first 30 pages as a group and come up with other
moments in the book that describe Hester’s character through the ways discussed
in the instruction.
 Your job is to circulate among the groups as a “coach.” Motivate conversation and
get students to look in the book and specifically reference parts of the book. Ask
some questions if needed to generate group discussion. Encourage students; tell
them it’s okay to make mistakes.
 Get the students back into normal seats after 8-10 minutes of discussion
 Go to the whiteboard and ask students to share what they found. Tell them they
should share their findings so we come to a better overall understanding of the
character of Hester. Makes sure to get at least one piece of information from each
group so they are all able to share in this process. If there is something you feel
they left out, be sure to ask a question that prompts them to come up with the
answer.
Independent Practice
 Write down a character you want to analyze in your notebooks, choosing from
these 3: Roger Chillingworth, Arthur Dimmesdale, or Pearl. Jot down some
general questions like the ones we just went over to guide your reading: What does
the character do? What does the character say? How does the author describe the
character? What references, comparisons, and allusions are made?
 Read the next 3 chapters for homework.
 Put together an analysis (like the one we just did for Hester) and write a 2 page
analysis in essay form on one of these 3 characters: Roger Chillingworth, Arthur
Dimmesdale, or Pearl for homework, due Monday. Be sure to use specific
references to the text in your analysis.
Closure
This is extremely important to the understanding of the novel. It’s also a good tool to
understand people in general.
 So really quick, what kinds of things are important when thinking about character?
-Some expected answers could include: dialogue, physical description, actions,
references, comparisons.
15 mins
5 mins
5 min
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
Point out the reason for and importance of collaborative work that happened in this
class.
 Reiterate the information from the Student Rationale section (Understanding
characters in books will help you to understand people better, too. You could take
the skills you learned in this analysis and apply them to someone in your life if you
wanted to understand them better).
 Remind students to read the next 3 chapters and analyze a character for HW, a 2
page essay.
Ask if there any questions about what we learned today or about what you’re doing for
homework?
Special notes and Reminders to myself
Be sure to give students time to discuss, maybe do a quick icebreaker to get conversation started.
Materials and Resources needed
Whiteboard, markers, writer’s notebooks.
Accommodations for Students with Special Needs
Included students will participate by recording what students discuss, contributing to conversation if they
feel comfortable enough to. It would make no sense to separate them if the idea is “including” them into
class activities.
Plan B: have unprepared students (who didn’t do the reading) read on their own while groups are
discussing it. They will be marked as unprepared and won’t get credit for participation for that day.
Assessment of Student Learning
Informal assessment will include me observing conversations as I poke around to different groups, noting
whose talking and what they are contributing to conversation. I will listen to see if they are asking
questions and making efforts at arriving at conclusions.
The 2-page character analysis essay will show how each student understood the knowledge gained during
instruction and guided practice. I will be grading them on whether or not they included actions, dialogue,
references, comparisons, and allusions made to their character. I will also be looking to see if they made
specific references to the text.
Reflection on or Evaluation of Lesson
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