The Scarlet Letter Unit TEST - Sandra Nash | Library

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What gesture does Dimmesdale consistently make throughout the book?

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Next to whom is Hester buried at the end of the novel?

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What is ironic about the first scene on the scaffold?

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Which of the following is a method Dimmesdale uses to punish himself for his sins?

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Hester earns a living through her needlework, but she is not asked to embellish which garment?

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How does Pearl react when she sees her mother without the scarlet letter for the first time?

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What natural phenomenon comes to symbolize both Dimmesdale’s “sin” and Governor Winthrop’s “virtue”?

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Who does Hawthorne refer to as “The Leech” in the chapter titles throughout the book?

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How does Pearl finally acknowledge Dimmesdale as her father at his death?

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What does Hester convince Dimmesdale to do during their walk in the woods?

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At the end of the novel, how does Pearl become wealthy?

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What does Rev. Dimmesdale's congregation think of him?

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Which two characters live together?

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What does Hester’s letter “A” eventually come to represent to the townspeople?

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In what century is the story of Hester Prynne set?

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What is situated immediately outside the door of the prison where Hester is kept at the beginning of the novel?

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What did Dimmesdale tell the townspeople before he died?

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Why is Hester in the jail at the beginning of the novel?

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What color was the embroidery that Hester embellished her “A” with?

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Mr. Wilson asks Pearl, "Canst thou tell me, my child, who made thee?" What is Pearl's answer?

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Which of the following is NOT one of the temptations Dimmesdale thinks about as he walks back to town (after deciding to run away with Hester)?

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Hester removes the scarlet letter whenever she is alone.

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Hester visits Governor Bellingham so she can keep Pearl.

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Mistress Hibbins is executed a few years after the events of the novel conclude.

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Dimmesdale knows Chillingworth’s true identity from the beginning of the novel.

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Passage 1
But Hester Prynne, with a mind of native courage and activity, and for so long a period not merely estranged, but outlawed, from society, had habituated herself to such latitude of speculation as was altogether foreign to the clergyman. She had wandered, without rule or guidance, in a moral wilderness; as vast, as intricate and shadowy, as the untamed forest, amid the gloom of which they were now holding a colloquy that was to decide their fate. Her intellect and heart had their home, as it were, in desert places, where she roamed as freely as the wild Indian in his woods. For years past she had looked from this estranged point of view at human institutions, and whatever priests or legislators had established; criticizing all with hardly more reverence than the Indian would feel for the clerical band, the judicial robe, the pillory, the gallows, the fireside, or the church.

In the above passage, the narrator’s attitude towards Hester (tone) can be described as:

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Passage 1
But Hester Prynne, with a mind of native courage and activity, and for so long a period not merely estranged, but outlawed, from society, had habituated herself to such latitude of speculation as was altogether foreign to the clergyman. She had wandered, without rule or guidance, in a moral wilderness; as vast, as intricate and shadowy, as the untamed forest, amid the gloom of which they were now holding a colloquy that was to decide their fate. Her intellect and heart had their home, as it were, in desert places, where she roamed as freely as the wild Indian in his woods. For years past she had looked from this estranged point of view at human institutions, and whatever priests or legislators had established; criticizing all with hardly more reverence than the Indian would feel for the clerical band, the judicial robe, the pillory, the gallows, the fireside, or the church.

In the passage, the author implies that a Native American (Indian):

1

Passage 1
But Hester Prynne, with a mind of native courage and activity, and for so long a period not merely estranged, but outlawed, from society, had habituated herself to such latitude of speculation as was altogether foreign to the clergyman. She had wandered, without rule or guidance, in a moral wilderness; as vast, as intricate and shadowy, as the untamed forest, amid the gloom of which they were now holding a colloquy that was to decide their fate. Her intellect and heart had their home, as it were, in desert places, where she roamed as freely as the wild Indian in his woods. For years past she had looked from this estranged point of view at human institutions, and whatever priests or legislators had established; criticizing all with hardly more reverence than the Indian would feel for the clerical band, the judicial robe, the pillory, the gallows, the fireside, or the church.

Based on the context of the passage, “estrangement” most nearly means:

1

Passage 1
But Hester Prynne, with a mind of native courage and activity, and for so long a period not merely estranged, but outlawed, from society, had habituated herself to such latitude of speculation as was altogether foreign to the clergyman. She had wandered, without rule or guidance, in a moral wilderness; as vast, as intricate and shadowy, as the untamed forest, amid the gloom of which they were now holding a colloquy that was to decide their fate. Her intellect and heart had their home, as it were, in desert places, where she roamed as freely as the wild Indian in his woods. For years past she had looked from this estranged point of view at human institutions, and whatever priests or legislators had established; criticizing all with hardly more reverence than the Indian would feel for the clerical band, the judicial robe, the pillory, the gallows, the fireside, or the church.

The narrator uses the term 'moral wilderness' to describe the background of Hester’s thought life in order to:

1

Passage 1
But Hester Prynne, with a mind of native courage and activity, and for so long a period not merely estranged, but outlawed, from society, had habituated herself to such latitude of speculation as was altogether foreign to the clergyman. She had wandered, without rule or guidance, in a moral wilderness; as vast, as intricate and shadowy, as the untamed forest, amid the gloom of which they were now holding a colloquy that was to decide their fate. Her intellect and heart had their home, as it were, in desert places, where she roamed as freely as the wild Indian in his woods. For years past she had looked from this estranged point of view at human institutions, and whatever priests or legislators had established; criticizing all with hardly more reverence than the Indian would feel for the clerical band, the judicial robe, the pillory, the gallows, the fireside, or the church.

The passage can be interpreted as meaning all of the following EXCEPT:

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Hester saw and recognized the self-same faces of that group of matrons, who had awaited her forthcoming from the prison door, seven years ago; all save one, the youngest and only compassionate among them, whose burial robe she had since made. At the final hour, when she was so soon to fling aside the burning letter, it had strangely become the centre of more remark and excitement, and was thus made to sear her breast more painfully, than at any time since the first day she put it on.

While Hester stood in that magic circle of ignominy, where the cunning cruelty of her sentence seemed to have fixed her for ever, the admirable preacher was looking down from the sacred pulpit upon an audience, whose very inmost spirits had yielded to his control. The sainted minister in the church! The woman of the scarlet letter in the market-place! What imagination would have been irreverent enough to surmise that the same scorching stigma was on them both?

By using the phrase 'same scorching stigma,' the author intends for us to understand that:

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Hester saw and recognized the self-same faces of that group of matrons, who had awaited her forthcoming from the prison door, seven years ago; all save one, the youngest and only compassionate among them, whose burial robe she had since made. At the final hour, when she was so soon to fling aside the burning letter, it had strangely become the centre of more remark and excitement, and was thus made to sear her breast more painfully, than at any time since the first day she put it on.

While Hester stood in that magic circle of ignominy, where the cunning cruelty of her sentence seemed to have fixed her for ever, the admirable preacher was looking down from the sacred pulpit upon an audience, whose very inmost spirits had yielded to his control. The sainted minister in the church! The woman of the scarlet letter in the market-place! What imagination would have been irreverent enough to surmise that the same scorching stigma was on them both?

The narrator would most likely agree that:

1

Hester saw and recognized the self-same faces of that group of matrons, who had awaited her forthcoming from the prison door, seven years ago; all save one, the youngest and only compassionate among them, whose burial robe she had since made. At the final hour, when she was so soon to fling aside the burning letter, it had strangely become the centre of more remark and excitement, and was thus made to sear her breast more painfully, than at any time since the first day she put it on.

While Hester stood in that magic circle of ignominy, where the cunning cruelty of her sentence seemed to have fixed her for ever, the admirable preacher was looking down from the sacred pulpit upon an audience, whose very inmost spirits had yielded to his control. The sainted minister in the church! The woman of the scarlet letter in the market-place! What imagination would have been irreverent enough to surmise that the same scorching stigma was on them both?

The narrator uses the two exclamatory sentences in this passage in order to:

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Hester saw and recognized the self-same faces of that group of matrons, who had awaited her forthcoming from the prison door, seven years ago; all save one, the youngest and only compassionate among them, whose burial robe she had since made. At the final hour, when she was so soon to fling aside the burning letter, it had strangely become the centre of more remark and excitement, and was thus made to sear her breast more painfully, than at any time since the first day she put it on.

While Hester stood in that magic circle of ignominy, where the cunning cruelty of her sentence seemed to have fixed her for ever, the admirable preacher was looking down from the sacred pulpit upon an audience, whose very inmost spirits had yielded to his control. The sainted minister in the church! The woman of the scarlet letter in the market-place! What imagination would have been irreverent enough to surmise that the same scorching stigma was on them both?

According to the passage, what can we infer happened to one of the matrons who had waited for Hester to exit the jail?

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Hester saw and recognized the self-same faces of that group of matrons, who had awaited her forthcoming from the prison door, seven years ago; all save one, the youngest and only compassionate among them, whose burial robe she had since made. At the final hour, when she was so soon to fling aside the burning letter, it had strangely become the centre of more remark and excitement, and was thus made to sear her breast more painfully, than at any time since the first day she put it on.

While Hester stood in that magic circle of ignominy, where the cunning cruelty of her sentence seemed to have fixed her for ever, the admirable preacher was looking down from the sacred pulpit upon an audience, whose very inmost spirits had yielded to his control. The sainted minister in the church! The woman of the scarlet letter in the market-place! What imagination would have been irreverent enough to surmise that the same scorching stigma was on them both?

The first sentence of the second paragraph serves to:

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Passage 3
Once this freakish, elfish cast came into the child’s eyes, while Hester was looking at her own image in them, as mothers are fond of doing; and, suddenly, — for women in solitude, and with troubled hearts, are pestered with unaccountable delusions, — she fancied that she beheld, not her own miniature portrait, but another face in the small black mirror of Pearl’s eye. It was a face, fiend-like, full of smiling malice, yet bearing the semblance of features that she had known full well, though seldom with a smile, and never with malice, in them. It was as if an evil spirit possessed the child, and had just then peeped forth in mockery. Many a time afterwards had Hester been tortured, though less vividly, by the same illusion.

The narrator most likely uses the word “delusions” to indicate:

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Passage 3
Once this freakish, elfish cast came into the child’s eyes, while Hester was looking at her own image in them, as mothers are fond of doing; and, suddenly, — for women in solitude, and with troubled hearts, are pestered with unaccountable delusions, — she fancied that she beheld, not her own miniature portrait, but another face in the small black mirror of Pearl’s eye. It was a face, fiend-like, full of smiling malice, yet bearing the semblance of features that she had known full well, though seldom with a smile, and never with malice, in them. It was as if an evil spirit possessed the child, and had just then peeped forth in mockery. Many a time afterwards had Hester been tortured, though less vividly, by the same illusion.

Whose face is most likely the one Hester sees in the small black mirror of Pearl's eye?

1

Passage 3
Once this freakish, elfish cast came into the child’s eyes, while Hester was looking at her own image in them, as mothers are fond of doing; and, suddenly, — for women in solitude, and with troubled hearts, are pestered with unaccountable delusions, — she fancied that she beheld, not her own miniature portrait, but another face in the small black mirror of Pearl’s eye. It was a face, fiend-like, full of smiling malice, yet bearing the semblance of features that she had known full well, though seldom with a smile, and never with malice, in them. It was as if an evil spirit possessed the child, and had just then peeped forth in mockery. Many a time afterwards had Hester been tortured, though less vividly, by the same illusion.

In the above passage, the narrator's attitude toward Hester (tone) can be described as:

1

Passage 3
Once this freakish, elfish cast came into the child’s eyes, while Hester was looking at her own image in them, as mothers are fond of doing; and, suddenly, — for women in solitude, and with troubled hearts, are pestered with unaccountable delusions, — she fancied that she beheld, not her own miniature portrait, but another face in the small black mirror of Pearl’s eye. It was a face, fiend-like, full of smiling malice, yet bearing the semblance of features that she had known full well, though seldom with a smile, and never with malice, in them. It was as if an evil spirit possessed the child, and had just then peeped forth in mockery. Many a time afterwards had Hester been tortured, though less vividly, by the same illusion.

Using the words "as if" in the second to last sentence serves the same rhetorical purpose as which of the following words in the last sentence?

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Passage 3
Once this freakish, elfish cast came into the child’s eyes, while Hester was looking at her own image in them, as mothers are fond of doing; and, suddenly, — for women in solitude, and with troubled hearts, are pestered with unaccountable delusions, — she fancied that she beheld, not her own miniature portrait, but another face in the small black mirror of Pearl’s eye. It was a face, fiend-like, full of smiling malice, yet bearing the semblance of features that she had known full well, though seldom with a smile, and never with malice, in them. It was as if an evil spirit possessed the child, and had just then peeped forth in mockery. Many a time afterwards had Hester been tortured, though less vividly, by the same illusion.

Which of the following word choices DOES NOT work to emphasize that Hester feels Pearl is a "devil"?

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Answer the following question in a well-developed paragraph or paragraphs. Write your response on your own lined paper. Use details from the text to support your main idea. (Quotes are not necessary, but you must describe events in the story that support your thinking.) What is one of the themes of 'The Scarlet Letter'? In your answer, consider the narrator’s attitude (tone) toward Hester, Pearl, Dimmesdale, Chillingworth, and/or the Puritans in general and how it works to establish the theme.