The Scarlet Letter Study Guide

What is the primary purpose for the Custom-House introduction?
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What is the primary purpose for the Custom-House introduction?
to give the reader a better understanding of the people living in the Custom-House and their ways of living. In the introduction, the reader is given an overview of Hawthorne's points of views on the Custom-House.
What significant change does Hawthorne admit to making in telling the story contained in the diary?
Hawthorne says his story is inspired by a event that actually happened, but was still influenced by his creativity and imagination.
What potential impact will this change have on the story?
Hawthorne took a a boring version and added detail to make it more interesting to the reader.
What is the setting of the novel?
Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony during the years 1642 to 1649
What fact of the human condition does Hawthorne allude to when mentions the need for a prison and a cemetery?
We are all sinful people
What is the significance of the wild rose-bush that grows beside the prison door?
The wild rosebush is a symbol for nature's sympathy on the criminals inside the prison. Supposedly, the essence of the rosebush soothes the situation for the inmates that are doomed.
Who was Anne Hutchinson?
A woman who was kicked out of colonial Massachusetts and helped found a colony based on religious freedom (Rhode Island)
What does Hawthorne achieve by his reference to "the sainted Anne Hutchinson?"
He shows us how serious the Puritans take their crimes which prepares us for what to expect from the novel.
What is Hawthorne saying about the Puritan women of the New World?
they were too interested in the punishment of other women. They would get as close to the punishment platform and watch what was going on.
What does Hawthorne portray as the general opinion of Hester Prynne's punishment?
It's not good enough because whatever crime she committed deserves death/worse because they say the Bible says so