Scarlet Letter Test Flashcards
Something that is taught; Lesson.
Lore
Something producing apparently magical or miraculous.
Talisman
To drink
Quaff
Safe distance.
Berth
To take place afterword.
Ensue
An emotion of sympathetic pity.
Pathos
The heraldic color red.
Gules
Building.
Edifice
Full suit of armor; Impressive array
Panoply
Exceedingly talkative.
Loquacity
Expressive gesture.
Gesticulation
The color black; Dark.
Sable
A medieval trumpet with clear shrill tones.
Clarion
Court meeting at which a trial is carried out.
Tribunal
To pretend.
Feign
The novel begins where? What is the significance of this place?
The novel is set in the mid-1600s in Boston. Begins outside the salem jail, The prison is symbolic of several things such as; Puritanical severity of law, The strict enforcement of laws and the inability to break free of these laws, and Authority (one that does not tolerate deviance)
What is the symbol of the rosebush related to?
The rosebush is a symbol of passion and Hester’s sin is one of passion. The rosebush is linked to the wilderness, where Puritan laws cannot reach. The rose is in full bloom when Hester is at the peak of passion; just have given birth.
What are the women in the courtyard upset about?
While Hester is being punished on the scaffold women in the community gossip about her. They point out that she has taken her A of shame and decorated it with her killing skills.
What is Hester’s punishment to be?
She is to stand upon the scaffold in town along with her child while wearing a scarlet letter “A” upon her clothing.
Hester is shocked to discover who in town her first day on the scaffold?
Hester identifies a man in the crowd that chides her as her husband, Roger Chillingworth.
What does he vow to do? How does he plan to this?
He vows to find out who the child’s father is and Chillingworth says that he will find the father of the baby by looking into the man’s heart.
What is Pearl’s function in the novel? How does Hawthorne reveal this?
Pearl is the symbol of the scarlet letter. Hester dresses pearl like the scarlet letter, and when Pearl and Hester go to Governor Bellingham’shouse, the people call Pearl, red rose. And Pearl said she was plucked from a rose bush
What are the many symbols of the Scarlet letter?
Pearl, Angel, Able, and adultery, and also the little sins and crimes of everyone
Why is Hester’s housing choice symbolic?
The cottage is on the edge of the town right next to the forest.
She is in the border of the moral world of society and of the immortality of the wilderness.
Explain the significance of Pearl’s name?
Hester chose the name because a pearl is something that is paid for at a high price. And Hester paid a huge price for this child.
What point does Hawthorne try to make with the name?
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How does the trip to the governor’s mansion further the idea of Pearl as the Scarlet Letter?
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Why does Hester appeal to Dimmesdale? What are some things that this encounter causes?
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Why is Chillingworth referred to as a leech? 2 reasons?
He is a physician who at the time were still known to use leeches and He is living off of Dimmesdale and will eventually suck the life out of him
What is the turning point for Chillingworth? How does he change? Give some evidence of this?
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How does Pearl connect her parents while playing in the graveyard?
Pearl connects her parents by throwing the burrs. She throws them at Hester, as a visual for the pain she causes her mother. Then, she throws them at Dimmesdale and that shows the connection between them.
How does Dimmesdale attempt to cope with his guilty conscious?
Fasting and wiping himself
When does the reader become aware that Chillingworth is powerless as to the outcome of the novel?
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What are some of the changes that occur in Hester as she moves from passionate to logical thinker?
Rather than acting on her feelings, and she depends on logic.
When confronted by Pearl about the scarlet letter what transpires? Why is it significant?
Hester is confronted by pearl about the meaning of the “A” when pearl makes her own letter out of seaweed and Hester asks the child what the letter means. Pearl is unable to answer, but demands that her mother tells her what it means and why the minister places his hand over his heart. Pearl is connecting their parents and their guilt through her. Hester lies to the child saying that it has to do with the gold thread. Hester’s lie will have to be resolved by the close of the novel.
What is important about the sunshine that Pearl plays in, in the forest?
The sunlight points that where hester goes trouble follows, therefore her meeting with dimmesdale can only cause him more pain
What does Pearl point out about the suffering of Hester and Dimmesdale?
That her Hester’s suffering is external and Dimmesdale’s is internal.
What changes follow the meeting of Hester and Dimmesdale in the woods for Hester, Dimmesdale, and Pearl?
Hester goes back to a passion logic of thinking. Pearl personality changes and she becomes more obedient.
What is the plan for escaping from New England? How is it foiled?
Hester and Dimmesdale are planning on leaving with a group of sailors that are in town and going to Europe. Chillingworth goes to the ship and asks to join the crew.
What is the importance of Mistress Hibbins in the final few chapters of the novel?
Mistress Hibbins is foreshadowing that she would eventually meet with Hester and Dimmesdale in the forest if time allowed.
What causes the death of Dimmesdale, Chillingworth, and Hester?
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What are the circumstances surrounding Dimmesdale’s death?
Once Dimmesdale confesses his sin, he dies
What becomes of Pearl?
She moves to England and builds a family
What request does chillingworth make of hester
Keep his identity secret
Wears the scarlet letter?
Hester
Name for the devil
black man
Lives in the wood with his book
the black man
Tormented man
Chillingworth
Dies on the scaffold
Dimmesdale
Hester’s husband
Roger Chillingworth or Mr. Prynne
Must wear scarlet letter
Hester
Roger Chillingworth’s wife
Hester or Mrs. Prynne
Moves to England
Pearl
Dies shortly after dimmesdale
Chillingworth
Opening setting of novel
the prison door
Rosebush symbolizes
passion
3 meanings of scarlet letter
Able, adultery, shame, charity
