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Scarlet Letter Questions: Matthew Tucker

Terms in this set (31)

Identify Hester Prynne, Pearl, Rev. Mr. Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth
Hester Prynne: adulteress, has the letter 'a' on her clothing.
Pearl: Daughter of Hester and ???
Rev. Mr. Dimmesdale: young clergyman from a English University
Roger Chillingworth: practitioner who is determined to find out the man who paired with Hester and gave Hester the Scarlet Letter.
What emblem did Hester have to wear? Why was she sentenced to wear it?
Hester wears a scarlet 'A' because she was caught in the sin of adultery.
What info did Hester refuse to tell the officials and Mr. Dimmesdale?
She refused to tell the officials and Mr. Dimmesdale who her 'partner-in-crime' was.
What was the relationship between Hester and Roger Chillingworth?
Hester knows Roger Chillingworth because they were married.
What did Hester promise to Roger Chillingworth?
Hester promises not to tell anyone who Roger Chillingworth is. (She won't share his real name)
Hester is released from prison. Why doesn't she run away to a different settlement?
'Here, she said to herself, had been the scene of her guilt, and here should be the scene of her earthly punishment; and so, perchance, the torture of her daily shame would at length purge her soul, and work out another purity than that which she had lost' more saint-like, because the result of martyrdom.' (page 67)
How did Hester support herself and pearl?
Hester makes finery for the people in the settlement.
Describe Pearl.
Pearl is the beautiful, graceful, and impish daughter of Hester.
Describe Hester's feelings towards Pearl..
Hester loves Pearl. Pearl is the most important thing to Hester. Though sometimes Pearl scares Hester, and makes Hester question if Pearl is a human child.
Why did Hester go to see Governor Bellingham?
Hester went to see Governor Bellingham to deliver a embroidered pair of gloves. She also went because she had heard of schemes to have Pearl taken from her care.
What did Hester and Pearl see in the breastplate of the armor? What is the significance of the exaggeration?
They saw the Scarlet Letter. The importance of that exaggeration is to look, for a moment, through the eyes of the people Hester passes in street, the 'A' is all they see.
Mr. Wilson asks Pearl, "Canst thou tell me, my child, who made thee?" what is pearl's answer? Why did she say that?
Pearl tells him that '. . .she had not been made at all, but had been plucked by her mother of the bush of wild roses, that grew by the prison-door'. (pg 90) The book suggests that Pearl gave that answer because she wanted a rose off of the bush moments before and so it had been on her mind.
What convinced the Governor to let Hester keep pearl?
The governor is Convinced by Mr. Dimmesdale, who said that Pearl would remind Hester every day of her 'fall' (page 92).
How did roger Chillingworth become Dimmesdale's medical advisor?
Roger Chillingworth was thought to have been sent by Providence to help heal Mr. Dimmesdale.
Who is the Leech? Why is he called that in the title of the chapter?
The Leech is Roger Chillingworth. He was called that because he stuck to Mr. Dimmesdale constantly, like a Leech would.
Why did Mr. Dimmesdale rush form the room to end the conversation he and with roger Chillingworth?
Mr. Dimmesdale was ashamed, uncomfortable, and angry that Roger Chillingworth accused him of having a sickness of the soul.
What does Rev. Dimmesdale's congregation think of him? Why is that ironic?
The congregation believes that he is perfect, though he says repeatedly that he is anything but. This is ironic because the Reverend is a sinner, but the people refuse to accept that fact.
Where did Mr. Dimmesdale go at midnight? Why?
He journeyed to the scaffold where Hester had stood and taken her punishment. He did so to try and punish himself for what he had done, though he did not have the guts to actually come out with what he did.
What did Pearl ask Mr. Dimmesdale?
If he would stand with herself and Hester boldly in front of the town.
What "sign" did the meteor make in the sky?
an 'A'
Where had Mr. Wilson, Hester, Pearl,, and Roger Chillingworth been that night .that they would al be walking by the scaffolding at midnight?
They had all been at the bedside of Governor Winthrop, who died just before.
What was the other view of Hester?
". . .the scarlet letter had the effect of the cross on a nun's bosom. It imparted to the wearer a kind of sacredness, which enabled her to walk securely mid all peril." (page 127)
What did Hester tell Roger Chillingworth when they met on the peninsula?
Hester tells him that she is going to tell Rev. Mr. Dimmesdale who Roger Chillingworth really is and was.
Why do Hester and Pearl go to the forest?
Hester tries to meet Rev. Mr. Dimmesdale in the forest to tell him who Roger Chillingworth is and what Chillingworth's intentions are for Dimmesdale. Pearl came because she goes nearly everywhere Hester does.
When Mr. Dimmesdale finds out that Roger Chillingworth is out for revenge, he knows his religious career inBoston will be at an end and his life will be miserable. What does Hester suggest?
Hester and Rev. Mr. Dimmesdale plot to hide on a ship and go to England where they can be with Pearl as a family.
What did Hester have to do by the brook before Pearl would come across?
Hester had to pin the scarlet letter back onto her dress in order to get Pearl to come to her.
Mr. Dimmesdale kissed Pearl. What did she do in response?
When Mr. Dimmesdale kisses Pearl, Pearl runs off to the brook and tries to wash it off.
How did Rev. Mr. Dimmesdale's attitude change after he diced to leave Boston with Hester?
Rev. Mr. Dimmesdale's attitude is now more realistic, it is as if he is seeing everything for the first time.
What shocking news did the commander of the Briston ship bring Hester? What did Mr. Dimmesdale tell the people of New England before he died?
Chillingworth has promised to take care of Mr. Dimmesdale's arrangements for the trip.
Dimmesdale told the people of New England that he was Hester's partner-in-crime.
What did the people see when Mr. Dimmesdale took of his ministerial band?
Dimmesdale shows them some mark on his chest. The mark is not described.
What happens to Hester, Pearl, and Roger Chillingworth?
Chillingworth dies within a year, Hester and Pearl disappear for a while then Hester comes back years later (alone) and does charity work until she dies. She is buried next to Dimmesdale and shares a headstone with him.
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