The Scarlet Letter Quizzes

The Scarlet Letter Quiz 1

By J. Nicholas Smith · Edited by Soman Chainani, August 15, 2007, and Adam Kissel, · Last reviewed September 30, 2007

1 Hawthorne completed The Scarlet Letter in what year?

1850

1900

1820

1950
2 Why did Hawthorne write the Custom-House introduction to the novel?

he wanted to describe how he "discovered" the manuscript

he thought The Scarlet Letter was too short to print by itself

he wanted to write an autobiographical short story

he was interested in the economic side of adultery
3 The prison door best represents which of the following?

the strength of Hester's determination to live with her crime

Puritanical severity of law and the authority of the regime

an escape route for Hester

a dirty, rusted old door separating Hester from her daughter
4 The rosebush outside the prison door is a symbol of all of the following except:

Puritanical punishment for moral crimes

Hester's passion

the wilderness surrounding Boston

Ann Hutchinson's tolerance of other religions
5 The blossoms of the rosebush are metaphors for:

Dimmesdale's love for Hester

Hester's passion and her marriage to Roger Chillingworth

Pearl and the crime of the story

Pearl and the moral of the story
6 Hawthorne's portrayal of the Puritanical society is one of:

disgust with the Puritan way of life

contradictory images and hypocrisy

support for the Puritan way of life

none of the above
7 Hester has embroidered what symbol onto her dress?

a rose blossom

a scarlet letter A

a bird for freedom

a round pearl
8 What gesture does Reverend Dimmesdale make throughout the book?

rubs his brow

places his hand over his heart

pulls at his shirt sleeves

raises his eyes to heaven
9 All of the following ironies occur in the first scaffold scene except:

the irony that Hester is married to Chillingworth but has had a child with another man

the irony that Chillingworth chides Hester from the crowd, asking her to reveal the father

the irony that Dimmesdale is called upon to ask Hester who the father is

the irony that Pearl will bring Hester and Dimmesdale back together
10 Chillingworth pretends to be of what profession?

a clergyman

an infantryman

a lawyer

a doctor
11 After she is released from prison, Hester goes to live where?

within the city of Boston

on the outskirts of Boston

with Roger Chillingworth

in another city in the colony of Massachusetts
12 How does Hester earn a living?

by growing crops

by her needlework

by healing other people

by selling wood in Boston
13 What is the first thing that Pearl sees as a baby?

Hester

the inside of a prison cell

the rosebush

the scarlet letter on Hester's chest
14 What does Pearl best represent throughout the novel?

the unifying force that will bring Hester and Dimmesdale together at the end

a young innocent child

the living embodiment of Hester's sin

a form of punishment for Hester
15 When John Wilson asks Pearl who her maker is, Pearl replies:

that Hester and Dimmesdale made her

that she was plucked off of a rose bush

that God made her

that sin made her
16 Mistress Hibbins, the sister of Governor Bellingham, is reputed to be:

a cruel lady

a Puritan

a good mother

a witch
17 Hawthorne draws strong parallels between what three images?

the prison door, the scarlet letter, Pearl

the prison door, the red rose, Pearl

Pearl, the red rose, the scarlet letter

Pearl, Hester, the red rose
18 To whom does Hawthorne apply the term "The Leech"?

Pearl

Dimmesdale

Chillingworth

Hester
19 How does Chillingworth figure out who Pearl's father really is?

Chillingworth becomes Dimmesdale's doctor and guesses the secret

Dimmesdale tells him

He never finds out

Hester tells him one day in the woods
20 What illuminates the first scaffold scene where Hester, Dimmesdale and Pearl are brought together?

a torch

a meteor

a fire

a lantern
21 The fact that this scaffold scene is illuminated can be understood as:

divine intervention

bad luck

success for Chillingworth

Hawthorne's desire to be melodramatic
22 Pearl's role changes towards the end of the novel. She starts to "punish" which character?

Chillingworth

Dimmesdale

Hester

Bellingham
23 What is Hester's response when she learns that the Puritan council might allow her to remove her scarlet letter?

she is furious

she indicates that only God can remove her letter

she is very happy

she immediately takes the letter off and goes into town without it
24 Hester tries to convince Dimmesdale to do what during their walks in the woods?

to adopt Pearl

to get rid of Chillingworth

to marry her

to run away and live elsewhere
25 What does the forest stand for?

A wild, uninhibited place where passion can flourish

An evil place where the Dark Man lives

A bright place where flowers grow

A dark, sinister place where lives are ruined