Chapter 1:
1. What types of imagery are used to introduce the Puritan
townsfolk in “The Prison Door”? What is the effect of this imagery and
how does the narrator further this portrayal in “The Market
Place”?
The types of imagery used to introduce the Puritan townsfolk in
“The Prison Door”, is mainly visual, but there is kinesthetic imagery as well.
Nathaniel Hawthorne describes how the people and jail look. This imagery helps
with the effect of setting the scene in the first two chapters.
2. What is the significance (symbolic, thematic, or otherwise)
of the rosebush outside the prison
door?
The symbolism of the rosebush outside the prison door is to
signify how even through bad weather the bush has grown. Hawthorne is referring
to how in tough times something may still grow and become better, and says that
it symbolizes “some sweet moral blossom that may be found along a track…” this
most likely means that beautifulness in life stands out the
most.
Chapter 2:
4. What is Hester’s first action in the novel and what does it reveal about her
character? Describe her demeanor as she emerges from the prison.
Hester’s first action in the novel is to clasp her baby to her
breast very tightly when she is put in front of the crowd. This act reveals that
Hester has motherly traits, and puts her kid before her in a way. She protects
her child from the crowd as if it is her own
life.
Chapter 3:
7. Describe the stranger standing next to the Indian during
Hester’s punishment. What signal passes between him and Hester? What emotional
affect does his presence have on Hester?
The stranger standing next to the Indian man has a deformed
body, with one shoulder higher than the other. He has an intelligent look to him
dresses in manly wear. This man is recognized by Hester, and seems to be her
husband from Amsterdam. He shows curiosity in what the man of the adulterer
faces in consequences.
10. What argument does Dimmesdale use to try convince to Hester
to name her “fellow-sinner”? How does Hester respond? How does her child
respond?
The argument Dimmesdale tries to use to convince Hester to
confess the father’s name is a bribe. The bribe is that if she reveals the man’s
name she can live with a peaceful soul, and her punishment on earth won’t be as
severe. Hester responds saying she will take both the shame of her own and the
father instead of giving a name. Dimmesdale talked in such a peaceful and serene
way that the baby put its arms toward him in a happy manner.
11. Why does Hester say the scarlet letter can never be removed
from her breast?
Hester says, “It is too deeply branded.” What she means by this
is that even when the letter would be removed, the sin she has committed will
live on with her forever. She accepts her sin and wants to face its
consequences.
12. How does the sermon delivered by John Wilson begin to expand
the symbolic significance of the scarlet letter? How does town gossip and
superstition do the same?
The sermon delivered by John Wilson begins to expand the
significance of the scarlet letter because it shows an acceptance to have
committed a sin. He says that all the gossip is just the same as the scarlet
letter because it lets everyone know what sin they have committed as well.
Chapter 4:
13. What does Chilling worth mean when he says to Hester, “We
have wronged each other”?
When Chillingworth tells Hester, “We have wronged each other”,
he means that the situation she is in right now is due to the two of them. He
thinks it is wrong how he, an older less pleasant appearing man, marry a young
beautiful women like her, but also her fault for having an affair. He says they
are even, and wishes no harm to her.
14. Why does Chillingworth ask Hester to keep his identity a
secret? Why is this ironic in the light of his profession?
Chillingworth asks Hester to keep his identity a secret because
he is new to town and no one really knows him or dislikes him. He doesn’t want
the reputation of being the husband of an adulterer because of his status of
being a physician. It is ironic because he says he wants to live and be unknown,
but is slowly being known by the town’s people.
Chapter 5:
15. How does Hester’s life change once her public humiliation is
over?
Hester’s life changes after her public humiliation because now
everyone looks down on her as the woman who sins and is not pure like them.
17. Where does Hester live after her leaving the prison? What is
significant about this location?
Hester lives in a small abandoned cottage by the outskirts of
the town. Its significance is that it is just far enough from the crowd of the
townspeople, but she still receives judgment by
them.
18. How does Hester support herself and Pearl? What does her
profession reveal about the Puritan society? What is the one job she is never
asked to do and why?
Hester supports herself and Pearl by stitching fabrics into
clothes and selling them. Her profession reveals that the Puritan society
doesn’t include workers skilled at sewing. The one job Hester is never asked to
do is make a white veil for marriage because it symbolizes purity; something she
doesn’t symbolize due to her sin.
19. Apart from wearing the scarlet letter, in what specific ways
is Hester isolated from the townspeople? How is she made to suffer by this?
Hester is isolated from the townspeople because they continue to
treat her horribly and even kids know something is different about her. She is
made to suffer by this because she has no social life.
20. What new and special power does the scarlet letter seem to
have given Hester? What is Hester’s reaction to this newfound ability?
The new and special power the scarlet letter gives Hester is
that others who have sinned are giving her a look that lets her know they have
also done wrong. It opens up Hester into knowing many others are hiding secret
sins. Hester is terrified by her new ability.
Chapter 6:
21. Why does Hester name her child Pearl? Why does she worry
about Pearl’s character?
Hester names her child Pearl because of the Bible verse in
Matthew 13:46, “Where the pearl costs everything a person has, but is worth the
great price.” Hester loses everything she has by having Pearl, and hopes she is
rewarded by her baby later on. Pearl turns out to be a very rude child, and this
worries Hester that she won’t be a rewarding
token.
22. How does the narrator account for Pearl’s wild and untamed
character?
The narrator accounts for Pearl’s wild and untamed character as
being an imp or devil’s child. Pearl doesn’t obey her mother, and has many acts
of evil such as throwing stones at children to receive that description of her.
24. What purpose might the mother-daughter conflict play in the
novel?
The purpose that the mother-daughter conflict might play in the
novel is because Hester will sometimes not accept Pearl as her daughter. At
times, Hester will remember, though, that Pearl is the outcome of her own sinful
passion.
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