The Scarlet Letter
Chapters 1 to 3
Questions for
Reflection
• Explore the reaction of the townspeople and of Hester herself as she
emerges from the prison and stands on the scaffold. Who do you find
yourself siding with? Why? Do you think Hawthorne is loading the
deck? Why? Why not?
• Examine a particular passage that you found confusing or excessively
ornate. Reread it and develop an explanation of its meaning or
linguistic significance.
• What is the irony of the narrator’s statement: “[S]he was conscious of a
shelter in the presence of these thousand witnesses” (Hawthorne 70)?
Where else might this ironic phenomenon occur?
• “There can be no outrage, methinks, against our common nature—
whatever be the delinquencies of the individual—no outrage more
flagrant than to forbid the culprit to hide his face for shame; as it was
the essence of this punishment to do” (Hawthorne 63).
(1) The Prison Door
• Basic: Describe the prison door.
• Higher Level: Analyze the
significance/symbolism of the prison
door.
• Highest Level: Make an inference about
Hawthorne’s perspective regarding
Puritan society based on the significance/
symbolism of the prison door.
(2) The market Place
• Basic: Describe the scaffold scene.
• Higher Level: What are the most
significant elements of Hester’s
character developed through this
sequence?
• Highest Level: Find a quote that
exemplifies the superego, ego, and id
involved in Hester’s punishment.
(2) The market Place
Hester’s Punishment
• Superego: “[It] befitted a people amongst whom
religion and law were almost identical, and in whose
character both were so thoroughly interfused, that the
mildest and the severest acts of public discipline were
alike made venerable and awful” (Hawthorne 58).
• Ego: “Those who…had expected to behold her
dimmed…were astonished…to perceive how her
beauty shone” (Hawthorne 61).
• Id: “At the very least, they should have put the brand
of a hot iron on Hester Prynne’s forehead…the
naughty baggage” (Hawthorne 59).
(2) The market Place
• Identify Quotes/Textual Support For…
• Political/Social Realities of Hester’s
World
• Internal vs. External Life
• The Scarlet Letter Itself
• Emerging Symbols
(3) The Recognition
• Basic: What is “The Recognition”?
• Higher Level: Hawthorne's portrayal of the
man in the courtyard emphasizes his
physical deformity; what is the likely
significance of this character trait?
• Highest Level: Make a prediction about how
the narrative will unfold, based upon the
man’s dialogue with townspeople and
Hester’s response to his presence.
How to read literature
like a Professor
Marked for Greatness
• QUASIMODO IS A HUNCHBACK. So is Richard III
(Shakespeare’s, not history’s). Mary Shelley’s better-known
creation, not Victor Frankenstein, but his monster, is a man
of parts. Oedipus has damaged feet. And Grendel is another
monster. All these characters are as famous for their shape
as for their actions. Their shapes tell us something, and
probably very different somethings, about them or other
people in the story.
• Character markings can stand as indicators of the damage
life inflicts.
How to read literature
like a Professor
• You doubt? How many stories do you know in which the
hero is different from everyone else in some way, and
how many times is that difference physically visible? Why
does Harry Potter have a scar, where is it, how did he get
it, and what does it resemble?
• Beyond [a damaged life], though, is another element:
character differentiation.
• But more often than not physical markings by their very
nature call attention to themselves and signify some
psychological or thematic point the writer wants to make.
The Scarlet Letter
Chapters 4 to 6
“The Recognition” and
“The Interview”
• Basic (think about): Describe
Chillingworth both physically and
psychologically
• Higher Level (in journal): Compare and
contrast Chillingworth’s reaction to
Hester’s transgression with Hester’s
reaction to his arrival.
“The Recognition” and
“The Interview”
• Highest Level (in groups): Hawthorne uses
characterization that describes Chillingworth as
both a scholar and as someone with the potential
for evil. What statement (theme) about
knowledge and evil is Hawthorne attempting to
establish?
“Hester at her Needle”
• Higher Level (in groups):
Explore the symbolism of Hester’s dwelling;
then, identify different quotes that show the
symbolism of the scarlet letter, finding
commonalities between these quotes.
“Hester at her Needle”
• Higher Level (in groups):
Explain the irony of Hester’s “profession” –
focus on the way she is viewed by society
verses her function within it.
Highest Level (in groups): Explore the theme
Hawthorne is establishing and explain how
that theme resonates or fails to resonate in
society today.
“pearl”
• Higher Level (in journal):
• Identify different quotes that provide
characterization (direct or indirect) of
Pearl…find commonalities between these
quotes.
• Highest Level: Analyze the style (mood,
tone, and voice) of the first paragraph of
Chapter VI.
Hawthorne’s Voice
• What is Hawthorne’s general attitude towards
Puritanism and Romanticism? How does one
attitude lead to another?
• What is Hawthorne showing the reader about
Puritanism? How does this emphasize
Romanticism?
Literary Devices
• In literature, juxtaposition is a literary device wherein
the author places a person, concept, place, idea or
theme parallel to another. The purpose of juxtaposing
two directly/indirectly related entities close together in
literature is to highlight the contrast between the two
and compare them. This literary device is usually used
for etching out a character in detail, creating suspense
or lending a rhetorical effect.
• A foil is a character who serves as a contrast to another
perhaps more primary character, so as to point out
specific traits of the primary character.