Enhance your students' appreciation of this classic with discussion questions and a challenging vocabulary quiz, plus a writing assignment with tips for crafting a well-developed essay.

Vocabulary Quiz—The Scarlet Letter, chapters 1-12

(originally created for an 11^th grade class in American literature, AP level)

Directions: For each question, write a definition for the underlined word as it is used in the sentence. Then put the word (any form) in a sentence of your own about anything except Hawthorne’s romance. For full credit, the sentence must show that you know the meaning and usage of the word. Example: “The soap opera character committed an ignominious act” is a poor sentence. “Although having an extramarital affair is no longer considered an ignominious act by some people, such behavior certainly does not improve one’s reputation” is a good one. Questions 1-13 are worth 7 points a piece; question 14 is worth 9 points.

1. It is unlikely that Reverend Dimmesdale found relief in the placidity of sleep.
2. In the early years after her public ignominy, Hester is frequently subject to the public’s contumely.
3. Pearl’s capriciousness is a source of dismay to her mother.
4. In writing The Scarlet Letter Hawthorne sought to come to terms with the legacy of his progenitors.
5. Despite the exigencies of colonial life and the austerity of their religion, the Puritans did not forgo all of the pleasures of old English life.
6. Their strict sumptuary laws did not prevent Hester from deriving an emolument from her needlework.
7. A character’s demeanor is often the key to his or her inner being in Hawthorne’s romance.
8. Hester conjures up scenes from her childhood in England while standing on the scaffold.
9. Dimmesdale maintains that a physician is able to affect only the temporal welfare of his patient.
10. The sportiveness of Pearl’s developing mind contrasts with Dimmesdale’s guilty, labyrinthine musings.
11. Ironically, the public’s increasing veneration of their reverend is a source of great agony for him.
12. Chillingsworth’s presence in the same house as Dimmesdale proves to be a more potent scourge than the minister’s instrument of torture.
13. The appearance of a meteor in the night sky may well have contributed to the phantasmagoric scene at the close of “The Minister’s Vigil.”
14. Briefly explain how one of the following literary devices figures in The Scarlet Letter: litotes, an intrusive narrator, or characters who may be regarded as types.

Study Guide for The Scarlet Letter, chapter 13 to the end

(created for an 11^th grade American literature class)

Due ___________________: Read chapters 13 through 15.

1. How has Hester changed, physically and emotionally, over the intervening years?
2. What important political allusions appear in chapter 13? How do they add to our understanding of Hester’s character?
3. “The scarlet letter had not done its office”: What do you take this important line to mean?
4. What is the significance of the maze metaphor that both Hester and Chillingworth invoke at the end of chapter 14?

Due ____________________: Read chapters 16 through 19.

1. Why must Hester and Dimmesdale meet in the forest? In general, how does Hawthorne portray nature in this work?
2. What important, long-hidden secrets come to light in chapter 17? How is the love scene an unconventional one?
3. How are Hester and Arthur contrasted in chapter 18? Note the narrator’s comment that “The scarlet letter was her passport into regions where other women dared not tread” and the extended metaphor (enemy, citadel, ruined wall) used to describe Dimmesdale.
4. Do you think Hester and Dimmesdale will be able to start a new life together? What function does Pearl serve in chapter 19? Does she behave as a real child would?

Due ____________________: Read chapters 20 through the Conclusion.

1. How do you account for Dimmesdale’s peculiar behavior on his way home from the forest? Why doesn’t Hester experience the same kind of reaction? What does the title of chapter 20 (“The Minister in a Maze”) suggest to you?
2. How does Chillingworth discover that Dimmesdale and Hester have spoken and that something important has transpired? What is ironic in the conversation between the two men at the end of chapter 20?
3. Chapters 21 And 22 seem to interrupt the story, but they serve several purposes. How do they arouse suspense? How is the revelation of the letter foreshadowed by Mistress Hibbins’ words about the minister? by the minister’s sermon as Hester hears it?
4. Why does Chillingworth try to prevent Dimmesdale from ascending the scaffold in chapter 23? What are Dimmesdale’s motives for revealing the letter? When do you think he decided on this course of action?
5. The narrator gives us a choice of several theories about the letter that Dimmesdale reveals? Why does he do this? Which theory makes most sense to you?
6. What is the fate of Chillingworth? of Pearl? of Hester? Some readers have found the last chapter too tidy, Chillingworth’s change of heart unbelievable, and Pearl’s fortune’s fantastic. What do you think?

The Scarlet Letter: Writing Assignment

(originally created for an 11^th grade class in American literature)

Essay: One of the early reviews of The Scarlet Letter lauded Hawthorne for his “subtle knowledge of character in its secret springs and outer manifestations” (my emphasis). For your essay on the romance, examine one of the characters from the perspective of this statement. Here are some ideas for getting started:

1. Start with a question about the character you select: Roger Chillingworth—wronged husband or unregenerate villain? Pearl—child of nature or “emblem and product of sin”? Dimmesdale—repentant minister or hypocrite? The question, mystery, or problem that you start with will be the motivation for your essay—the reason you are writing it; the answer or solution will help you arrive at a thesis.
2. Consider how Hawthorne portrays the character over the full course of the romance— how early hints about him or her become more pronounced, how the reader’s impression of the character changes, and so forth. Remember, the main focus of this essay should not be your feelings about the character but an analysis of how Hawthorne portrays him or her.
3. As you are reading the second half of the romance, look for and take notes on “evidence” that you will use to substantiate your points about the character. Look for key lines in which the character’s “secret springs” seem to be revealed.
4. As always, strive for clear organization—beginning, middle, and end; topic and transitional sentences to carry forward your argument. In using quotations, weave phrases into your own sentences rather than quoting big chunks of text. Remember to use the present tense for writing about literature (present perfect for antecedent action—e.g., “When The Scarlet Letter opens, the affair between Hester and her paramour has already ended”).

A proposal for your essay (character, problem, provisional thesis, preview of your evidence) is due __________________________.