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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.
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