Scarlet Letter Study Guide Answers

The necessities that must be provided immediately by the founders of a new colony are a cemetery and a prison. 2. The rose bush outside the prison sprung up under the footsteps of the sainted Ann Hutchinson. 3. The town people have gathered to witness the punishment of Hester Prynne. 4. The scarlet letter on her bodice is meant as punishment for her sin. The letter A stands for adultery. 5. Every new colony is quick in building a cemetery and prison because they know that misbehavior and death are inevitable.

6. Many of the town people regard Hester’s punishment as too lenient.

They say that she can easily cover up her bodice with a brooch. 7. When denying someone the ability to hide their face it forces them to face there sin right in the eye it heightens the amount of shame felt. 8. The coat of arms signifies that her family is very old and was, at some point wealthy. 9. Yes, scornful mockery would be much more crueler.

Chapter 3 1. The stranger who appears at the outskirts of the crowd has a shoulder that is higher than the other. 2. The stranger says that he has been a wanderer against his will and he has had to deal with mishaps on land and sea.

He says he is a captive and the India companion is there to redeem him of his captivity. 3. The severest possible punishment for Hester’s crime is death. Instead she has to stand on the scaffold for three hours and must wear the scarlet letter for the rest of her life.

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4. The stranger becomes concerned with the identity of Hester’s partner in crime. 5. The first clue provided by Hawthorne of the stranger’s identity is Hester’s recognition of him, second his face twisted with emotion when he saw Hester carrying out her punishment, and third Hester held her infant closer to her body when she saw and recognized him. . I believe the strangers vow to reveal the identity of Hester’s lover will become very important throughout the novel. I expect him to become overcome with the obsession of revealing this person’s identity.

7. Reverend Dimmsdale says to Hester that it would be better for her to reveal the identity of her fellow sinner so that he won’t have to hide the guilt in his heart, she’d be doing him a favor. The reverend also says that if Hester doesn’t speak she’d be allowing her fellow-sinner the chance to add hypocrisy to his list of sins. 8. Reverend Wilson thinks the baby is econding Reverend Dimmsdale counsel on revealing sinner’s identity. 9. Reverend Dimmsdale draws back in relief because he either knows who the guilty person is or he is the guilty fellow sinner hoping Hester does not speak up. Chapter 4 1. Roger Chillingworth is to lodge in the prison with Hester as the authorities work out his ransom. 2. Chillingworth’s study in alchemy and his sojourn for above a past year among people well versed in the kindly properties of simples have made a physician out of him. 3. Hester at first resist Chillingworth’s attempts to give the baby medicine because she thinks he is going to try and poison the child. . Chillingworth makes Hester swear to not reveal his true identity or the truth of their marital status to the town.

5. I am sure that Chillingworth is Hester’s husband when he says, “from the moment when we came down the old church steps together, a married pair, I might have beheld the bale-fire of that scarlet letter blazing at the end of our path! ” 6. Chillingworth doesn’t seek vengeance against Hester because he realizes that he should have known better than to leave her on her own, it is only expected that she would fall into temptation; he also states that they were now even. . Chillingworth means that even though the father of Hester’s child doesn’t wear a scarlet letter like her he will be able to identify him through the guilt in his heart. 8. Chillingworth would have emphasized the words “thy” and “thine. ” Chillingworth is not referring to his soul or Hester’s soul, he refers to her partners soul. Chapter 5 1. Hester believes that since Boston was the place that she committed her adultery and the place where her punishment was given it would be fitting for her to serve out her sentence there.

If she left Boston she’d be able to start fresh and remove the scarlet letter however she knows that it would not be 2. The people of Boston allowed Hester to sew for burials, babies, and officials’ robes. Hester is not allowed to sew for weddings. 3. Hester uses her spare money on the poor. 4. The one friend who dares not show himself is Dimmsdale. 5. The people of the town do not want Hester making wedding veils because it would be inappropriate for the hands of an adulterer to touch the wedding veil of a pure woman. 6.

Hawthorne only means that during early years women weren’t allowed many opportunities outside the house, therefore the only activity that Hester is capable of doing, in order to survive, is sewing. 7. I believe that women did in fact derive pleasure from needlework because of their limited role in society. However, the same thing can not be said about the women of today because women now hold higher places in society. 8. Hawthorne refers to the eye of Dimmsdale. Hester has sinned anew because during this moment of relief she reflects on her love with Dimmsdale.

Chapter 6 1. Hester accounted for pearl’s character by “recalling what she herself had been, during that momentous period while pearl was imbibing her soul from the spiritual world, and her bodily frame from its material of earth. ” 2. The discipline of children in the early days of the Boston colony would include harsh rebukes and rod beatings along side scriptural authority. 3. The puritan children make believe they are scalping Native Americans or scourging Quakers or even scaring one another with imitative witchcraft. 4.

The first object pearl seemed to be aware of, as an infant was the scarlet letter on Hester’s bodice. 5. The birth of the child proves that the strict moral code of the Puritans is wrong because as they punish her for her adultery, God blesses her with a child. 6. Hester does not properly discipline Pearl; she enables her to do whatever she wants. Hester does in fact try to “impose a tender but strict” control over pearl but she is truly unable. I believe that Pearl would have been more obedient and docile if Hester had taken a stronger disciplinary approach. Chapter 7 and 8 1.

The church members believed that Pearl was of demon origin and must be removed from the mother’s care because she would be a stumbling block for Hester. Another reason the church members felt that Pearl must be removed from Hester’s care is they felt she would thrive better from moral and religious growth under better guardianship. 2. The governor had worn the suit during training and at the head of a regiment during the Pequot war. The suit of armor was meant to depict the Governor as a soldier. 3. Hester replies that she can teach Pearl what she’s learned from her sins. 4. Chillingworth is older and his features have gotten duskier. . It is ironic that the servant thought of Hester as a great lady because of the letter on her chest when in fact the scarlet letter is meant to signify her impurity. 6. He is expressing to Pearl the importance of religious training in life and wants her to understand that this “pearl of great price” should be what she is striving for in life. It is something that her obedience and willingness to learn and participate in religious society will bring her. 7. Reverend Dimmsdale’s speech argues that God has given Pearl to Hester to remind of her sin, keep her from falling deeper into the depths of sin, and as a blessing.

God has made a sacred bond between Mother and daughter and to remover Pearl from the care of Hester would be destroying what God intended. 8. Chillingworth does not want Hester to be able to keep Pearl. He recognizes Dimmesdale’s heartfelt tone and is displeased that Hester has won her case. Chapter 9 and 10 1. Hawthorne states that there were few physicians in Boston because they seldom shared the religious passion that the people of Boston displayed. 2. The only surgeon in town was a barber. 3. Reverend Dimmsdale’s health begins to fail shortly after the arrival of Roger Chillingworth. 4.

Roger Chillingworth suggested to Dimmsdale’s friends that they live together. The minister’s friends made the living arrangements. 5. The irony in using the word leech for chapters 9 and 10 is that during earlier times physicians used leeches to help patients. However in the case of Roger Chillingworth and Dimmsdale, Chillingworth being the leech his only aim is to hurt Dimmsdale. 6. Chillingworth’s new purpose is to find the man who sinned alongside Hester. 7. Dimmsdale’s tapestries depicting the biblical story of David and Bathsheba are ironic because Dimmsdale is in the same situation.

He too has slept with the wife of another the only difference is the husband of the women he slept with is not being sent to his death; instead he is sharing a home with him. 8. It can be inferred that what Chillingworth saw on Dimmsdale’s chest may be some form of the same A on Hester’s bodice. This would account for Chillionworth’s deranged reaction. Chapter 11 and 12 1. When Dimmsdale tells his congregation that he is the worst of all sinners their admiration for him only heightened. 2. Dimmsdale punishes himself with fasting and beating himself with a bloody whip that he keeps locked away in his closet. 3.

They have been at the recently deceased Governor Winthrop’s house. Hester was taking the measurements of the body for a burial shroud. 4. In response to Pearl’s question the minister responds that he will stand with Hester and Pearl on judgment day before the lord. 5. The town people who see the red A in the sky interpret it as a symbol for angel, they believe Governor Winthrop to be. 6. After his discovery, Chillingworth’s mental attitude towards Dimmsdale has changed. He realizes that Dimmsdale has confided in him and Chillingworth plans to use that trust and the minister’s shy and sensitive nature to manipulate him however he pleases. . “The next day, however, being the Sabbath, he preached a discourse which was held to be the richest and most powerful, and the most replete with heavenly influences, that had ever proceeded from his lips. ” Pg 147 8. Hawthorne is being ironic; he is mocking the townspeople for having such a strong belief in witchcraft, a belief that causes them to dismiss Dimmsdale’s cry of anguish. 9. A previous given indication that Pearl felt a special bond with the minister was when Dimmesdale argued in favor of Hester being able to keep Pear, and Pearl put his hand against her cheek.

Chapter 13 1. Hester and Dimmsdale are bonded by the link of mutual crime. 2. Seven years have passed since Hester stood on the scaffold with the infant pearl. 3. The town people now say the A on Hester’s bodice stands for “able. ” 4. “We shall see whether Hester Prynne were ever afterwards so touched, and so transfigured. ” This line foreshadows a change in Hester’s melancholy state. It alludes to the development of Hester’s character back into a free spirited beautiful woman without a scarlet letter. 5.

Hawthorne strikes me as an advocate of women’s rights because of the pessimistic picture of the role of women in Puritan society he paints. He takes a depressed tone when he describes women’s limited roles in society and Hester’s reflections on the subject. 6. The scarlet letter was placed as a means of punishment and by saying that the scarlet letter had not done its office Hawthorne means that the purpose had not been carried out completely. The scarlet letter has caused Hester to gain a level of respect from the people of Boston. 7.

Hester is now better able to cope with Roger Chillingworth than she was in her prison chamber seven years ago because of all the hardships she endured. She no longer felt herself unequal to a fight against Chillingworth she wasn’t abased by sin, as she was that night. She also felt that Roger Chillingworth, in his state had declined while she was above his level in maturity and wisdom. Chapter 14 and 15 1. When Hester stops to speak with Chillingworth she has noticed some major changes in his appearance, he appears fiercer even though he makes a great effort to conceal his true emotions with a guarded look.

Overall he was starting to resemble the devil. 2. Hester pities Chillingworth for “the hatred that has transformed a wise and just man to a fiend. ” He has become so corrupt that he can no longer function in an ethical way. Chillingworth pities Hester because he was not a sufficient lover for her. 3. No, Chillingworth does not try to persuade Hester to reveal his true identity. 4. Pearl associates the scarlet letter with Dimmsdale repeatedly placing his hand over his heart. 5. The possibility that the scarlet letter could have a wholly different meaning has already happened.

The town people believe the A on her bodice to stand for “able. ” Because of her womanly strength Hester has gained respect from the people of Boston causing the meaning of her punishment to be altered. 6. Chillingworth is saying to Hester that forgiving Dimmsdale won’t do him any good because it’s too late for him; he realizes that his obsession with vengeance has taken control of him. He says that fate has already determined the outcome of his life and will do with him what it pleases. 7. According to Chillingworth, Hester takes her first steps astray with her crime of adultery. . Hester and Chillingworth can’t do anything to change the situation now that she has already committed her sin and fate has already organized her life for her. In his earlier statement, Chillingworth stated that Hester’s unfaithfulness was something he was able to predict. In both passages, it is asserted that Hester’s sin is the starting point in the new chapter of both of their lives 9. Hester is not ready to share the reason behind the scarlet letter with Pearl, and she doesn’t want her daughter to view her as the embodiment of sin. Chapter 16 and 17 . Hester does not want to visit Dimmesdale in his own study because she does not want Chillingworth to interfere. 2. Pearl tells Hester that the sunshine does not love her because it is afraid of her scarlet letter. 3. Dimmesdale’s initial reaction when Hester reveals Chillingworth’s true identity includes anger. He sinks to the ground, blames Hester for his suffering, and then forgives her because he realizes that Chillingworth has sinned more than either of them. 4. Hester suggests “a teacher and apostle of the red men,” a wise scholar, or to “Preach!

Write! Act! ” for Dimmesdale’s future career. 5. Hawthorne is possibly foreshadowing Pearl learning of her mother’s sin and the fact that she is an illegitimate child. 6. Pearl tells her mother to “come away” because she does not want her mother to be vulnerable to the black man’s (Chillingworth) motives, because she has seen the grief that they have caused Dimmesdale. 7. Hester is confessing to her scarlet letter being a symbol of a sin worthy of the Black Man’s mark when she tells Pearl that she met the Black Man once and the scarlet letter is his mark. 8.

Pearl’s question is a perceptive one because not only has Pearl noticed the minister’s frequent gestures, but she has also noticed the minister’s connection to herself and to her mother. She thus associates her mother’s scarlet letter with the minister’s acts and views the Black Man’s mark on her mother in relation to the Black Man’s mark on Dimmesdale. 9. Hawthorne tells us that they talk about the weather, ask about each other’s health, and so on, instead of including the actual dialogue because he may want to decrease the level of understood unease, and in turn, heighten the emotional connection between the two characters. 0. The metaphor Hawthorne uses in the passage to explain the purpose of Hester and Dimmesdale’s small talk includes a vehicle of a door threshold. 11. Penance and penitence are different; penance includes remorse and self-mortification for wrongdoing, penitence only includes regret for a sin. This sentence implies a mutual understanding between Hester and Dimmesdale Chapter 18 and 19 1. Hester is better prepared to leave because she is used to isolation.

2. Dimmsdale is seeking a new life that would bring light to his presently dark state. He lives with remorse and wants so badly to escape it. . When Pearl demands that Hester put the scarlet letter on her dress again, she does not pick it up and take it to her mother. 4. Hester reprimands Pearl for kissing her scarlet letter after she has kissed her brow and cheeks. 5. Hawthorne means that Dimmsdale’s sin was because of his passionate feelings for Hester. 6. The magic touch that effects the transformation is her emotional reunion with Dimmsdale. 7. Nature appears different through the eyes of lovers. If the forest had kept its gloom Hester and Dimmsdale would still have seen it differently. . Pearl is the creation of a passionate natural relationship and nature accepts her the way she is. Pearl is innocent and embodies her mother’s passionate emotions. 9. Hawthorne suggest the wolf as part of a legend to emphasize what the town people thought of Pearl and to show the exaggeration of the town people in coming up with this tale to depict Pearl’s wildness. 10. Pearl is upset when her mother removes the scarlet letter because she has never seen her mother without it; without the letter Hester becomes a whole new person unknown to Pearl.