English 11 Academic
Scarlet Letter Study Questions - Chapters 12-14
CHAPTER 12
1. The main purpose of this chapter is to
(a) describe Governor Winthrop’s death
(b) show the effect guilt has had on the minister
(c) show Chillingworth’s concern for Dimmesdale
(d) paint a picture of Boston at night
2. Laving his house lat at night, the minister
(a) visit’s Hester’s cottage
(b) goes to his church pulpit
(c) climbs up on the scaffold
(d) visits Governor Bellingham
3. Hester and Pearl are up late because
(a) Hester has taken measurements for a funeral robe
(b) they have been to a play
(c) Hester has visited the Black Man
(d) They have been away on a trip
4. Pearl asks Dimmesdale to
(a) come home with them
(b) stand with them on the scaffold at noon the next day
(c) pick a rose for her
(d) be her friend
5. Dimmesdale leaves behind him on the scaffold
(a) his hat
(b) his prayer book
(c) his glove
(d) his cane
6. Dimmesdale’s guilt draws him to the scaffold where
Hester stood because he
(a) shares Hester’s guilt
(b) has always felt sorry for Hester
(c) expects a crowd to be there
(d) knows he will meet Chillingworth there
7. Pearl’s asking Dimmesdale to stand on the scaffold at
noon with her and her mother shows that she
(a) is mischievous
(b) knows he is her father
(c) likes being with him
(d) wants to impress her friends
Thinking it over
Was it a meteor or a big letter A that lit up the night sky? Consider the information that the author gives about it, as
well as the sexton’s words near the end of the chapter. Then form your own opinion.
CHAPTER 13
1. The purpose of this chapter is to show how
(a) people’s opinions of Hester have changed
(b) ungrateful people can be
(c) Hester needs Dimmesdale’s help
(d) Pearl’s behavior worries her mother
2. At this time in the story, Pearl’s age is about
(a) three
(b) four
(c) seven
(d) thirteen
3. Hester is always ready when
(a) money is to be made
(b) sick people need care
(c) decisions have to be made
(d) wealthy people need a servant
4. Many people now believe that the scarlet A stands for
(a) Action
(b) Able
(c) Age
(d) Adaptability
5. Anne Hutchinson was a
(a) woman punished for adultery
(b) Puritan leader
(c) famous artist
(d) religious leader
6. When the author refers to “the iron link of mutual crime”
that binds Hester and Dimmesdale, he means
(a) their belief in God
(b) their illicit love affair
(c) their part of original sin
(d) their hatred of Chillingworth
7. When Hester wonders “whether it were not better to send
Pearl directly to heaven,” she is considering
(a) letting a rich family adopt Pearl
(b) enrolling Pearl in a religious order
(c) killing Pearl
(d) praying for a miracle
Thinking it over
Hester feels better able to cope with Roger Chillingworth now than she did seven years earlier, when he visited her in
prison. Explain why, in your own words.
CHAPTER 14
1. This chapter is mostly about
(a) a conversation between Hester and Chillingworth
(b) how deeply the minister is suffering
(c) the minister’s affection for Pearl and Hester
(d) the minister’s growing dislike of Chillingworth
CHAPTER 14 (cont’d)
2. Hester meets Chillingworth
(a) on the scaffold
(b) at a beach
(c) in the graveyard
(d) in the forest
3. Hester is struck that her husband has come to look like a
(a) saint
(b) much younger person
(c) fiend
(d) kindly old man
4. Hester tells Chillngworth that she will
(a) keep his secret if he forgives Dimmesdale
(b) no longer keep his secret
(c) tell the Governor he is not a physician
(d) no longer wear the scarlet letter
5. Hester urges Chillingworth to
(a) leave Boston
(b) release her from her promise
(c) expose Dimmesdale
(d) grant Dimmesdale his pardon
6. Pearl’s reflection in the pool seems to be urging her to
(a) go for a swim
(b) build a sandcastle
(c) drown herself
(d) go for a walk
7. Hester believes the change in Chillingworth is partly her
fault because
(a) of her promise to him
(b) her unfaithfulness caused him to seek revenge
(c) she refuses to live with him
(d) her actions caused him public humiliation
Thinking it over
One reaction of the audience watching a tragedy is a sense of the waste of noble qualities possessed by the characters.
Think of this novel as a tragedy and tell, in your own words, what waste of noble qualities is involved for Hester,
Chillingworth, and Dimmesdale.