Name ___________________________ Date _________________ Period ______

The Scarlet Letter Test Study Guide (chapters 1-14)

Your test is on Thursday, September 22, 2016
Multiple Choice and Fill in the Blank
1. For what sin is Hester Prynne condemned?
A. Abandoning her husband in England
B. Accusation
C. Adultery
D. Announcing her sins
2. To whom does the narrator compare Hester?
A. Mother Teresa
B. The Virgin Mary
C. A beautiful woman
D. The sun
3. When John Wilson asks Pearl who her maker is, Pearl replies:
A. That sin made her
B. That she was plucked off of a rose bush
C. That Hester and Dimmesdale made her
D. That God made her
4. How does Hester earn a living?
A. By growing crops
B. By healing other people
C. By her needlework
D. By selling wood in Boston
5. What has Hesters A come to signify in the eyes of the townspeople?
A. Alone
B. Aspersion
C. Active
D. Able

6. What is Hesters punishment(s)? ______________________________________

7. Give an example of Hesters work clientele. _____________________________
8. Where is Hesters work not appreciated/accepted? ________________________
9. List one of the many names or comparisons the townspeople and narrator assign
to Pearl. __________________________________
10. Why does the narrator refer to Chillingworth as The Leech?
__________________________________

Quote Identification and Explanation

Full credit name the speaker, describe the scene, and explain the
importance of the quote.
11. He wears no letter of shame on his clothes, as you do, but I will read the
shame in his heart.

12. She is my happiness. She is my torture but still! Pearl keeps me alive!

13. At the great judgment daythen and there, before the throne of judgment,
your mother, you, and I must stand together. But the light of this world will not see
us as one!

14. Realizing, however, that one shameful thing would not hide another, she took
the baby on her arm.

Short Response (1-3 sentences)

15. What comparisons does the narrator make between Chillingworth and the
Black Man? (Be specific)

16. Explain the significance of the wild rose bush that grows beside the prison
door, and identify and list two scenes in which the rose bush is mentioned.

17. Explain the evolution of the scarlet letter A as a symbol. Does the meaning
change? Does it mean the same thing to all characters? Explain your answer.

Extended Response (3-5 sentences)

Full credit response contains (if applicable) several examples, quotes,
textual evidence, and a demonstration of the writers knowledge of textual
events.
Partial/no credit response contains an unexplained example, no quotes or
textual evidence, and does not demonstrate a good understanding of textual
events.

18. Why does Dimmesdale continue to gain popularity as an effective and

exceptional minister, despite his sickness? How are Dimmesdales feelings about
his growing popularity different from others, and why?

19. When Hester is released from prison, she is free to leave Boston. Why doesnt
she leave?

20. Hester and Dimmesdale have committed the same crime, yet their
punishment is not the same. Whose punishment has a longer-lasting and more
severe effect? Defend your answer.

Be familiar with/prepared to discuss:

* Fire/heat imagery and the implications of these images
* Dimmesdales self-torture and torture caused or brought on by others
* Dimmesdale defending Hester, and the validation of his argument
* Various symbols (the scarlet letter, Pearl, the Black Man, the meteor)
* Chillingworth and Dimmesdales suffering who has suffered the most from
Chillingworths revenge?
* How does Hester Prynne benefit or gain from wearing the scarlet letter?