The Scarlet Letter

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  1. Go to: http://www.geocities.com/ibenglish_chs/mainpage.html

    1. Click on biographical material:

      1. Why did Hawthorne change the spelling of his name?

      2. What circumstance originally began to develop Hawthorne's interest in great writers such as Shakespeare and Bunyan?

      3. What connects The Scarlet Letter to his boyhood in Maine?

      4. What was Brookwood Farm?

      5. What was the name of Hawthorne's wife?

      6. What was Hawthorne's complaint about the women writers of his day?


  2. Go to: http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap3/hawthorne.html#themes

    1. List the themes but note that # 5, 6, and 7 are not themes, thus you should leave these out. # 8 lists several together, but these should be numbered separately.


  3. Go to: http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/scarlet/context.html

    1. What two basic principles of transcendentalism are mentioned here?

    2. What did Melville call Hawthorne?

    3. Why did Mosses from an Old Manse earn special attention?

    4. What is the subject of the majority of Hawthorne's work?
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  1. Go to: http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/scarlet/characters.html

    1. Click on the in-depth analysis of Pearl:

      1. To what concepts/ideas does Pearl draw the reader's attention?

    2. Click on the in-depth analysis of Chillingworth:

      1. What is suggested about the difference between Chillingworth's sin and that of Hester and Arthur?

    3. Read the in-depth analysis of Dimmsdale:

      1. What is suggested about the reason Dimmsdale is able to be a compassionate spiritual guide though his nature was to be more aloof?

  1. Go to: http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/scarlet/themes.html
(For these thematic questions, extrapolate i.e. go a mental step further than what is found on the site in your explanations.)
  1. Read "Sin, Knowledge, and the Human Condition":

    1. In what way are Hester and Arthur like Adam and Eve? Explain:

    2. Who remains stagnant and who shows growth in the book, and why?

  2. Read "The Nature of Evil":

    1. In what way might Chillingworth be said to be the black man (the devil) who leads others to sin?

    2. In what way might Dimmsdale be the devil?

  3. Read "Identity and Society":

    1. What does Arthur fail to learn that Hester does come to understand?

  4. Read "Civilization vs. the Wilderness":

    1. What is the difference between the two in the novel?

    2. Why is it significant that Hester's home borders on both?

  5. Read "Night vs. Day":

    1. How does "Night vs. Day" relate to the ideas of internal truth vs.external appearances in the novel?

  6. Read "Evocative Names":

    1. What is suggested by Chillingworth's name?

    2. What is suggested by Dimmsdale's?

    3. What by Pearl's?

  7. Read "Symbols":

    1. What is the significance of the meteor?
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  1. Go to: http://www.uwm.edu/Library/special/exhibits/clastext/clspg145.htm

    1. What is necessary and noble according to Hillis?


  2. Go to: http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/LitNote/The-Scarlet-Letter-Character-Analysis-Pearl.id-167,pageNum-114.html

    1. In what way does Pearl represent passion?

    2. In what way does she represent the intuitive/artistic nature?

    3. In what way does she represent conscience?


  3. Go to: http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/LitNote/The-Scarlet-Letter-Character-Analysis-Hester-Prynne.id-167,pageNum-97.html

    1. Which of Hester's qualities stand out?

    2. What displays her sense of irony and contempt?

    3. What is Hawthorne's message about the meaning and purpose of art in the answer to # 2?

    4. What is suggested as the reason that Hester retains her sanity though Dimmsdale appears to be losing his?


  4. Go to: http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/LitNote/The-Scarlet-Letter-Critical-Essays-Symbolism-in-The-Scarlet-Letter.id-167,pageNum-121.html

    1. Ultimately, what does Hester represent?

    2. What does Dimmsdale represent?

    3. If Pearl represents sin, how does she become a sin redeemed?

    4. What does Chillingworth represent?


  5. Go to: http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/LitNote/The-Scarlet-Letter-Critical-Essays-The-Scarlet-Letter-as-a-Gothic-Romance.id-167,pageNum-139.html

    1. What is Hawthorne's definition of a romance novel?

    2. What psychological qualities characterize Dimmsdale?

    3. What psychological traits characterize Hester?

    4. What qualities must a romance contain, according to Hawthorne?

    5. What provides unity and structure in the novel?

    6. What Gothic elements appear in the novel?


  6. Go to: http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/LitNote/The-Scarlet-Letter-Critical-Essays-The-Structure-of-The-Scarlet-Letter.id-167,pageNum-145.html

    1. In the first scaffold scene, which characters are present?

    2. In the second scaffold scene, who begins alone on the scaffold?

    3. Who comes to his side?

    4. Who are the three potential "observers" and what do they represent?

    5. In the third scaffold scene, who is present?

    6. What is gained and lost in this scene?


  7. Go to: http://www.online-literature.com/hawthorne/scarletletter/24/

    1. What evidence was there that Chillingworth himself was in some sense redeemed at the end?

    2. What evidence is there that the Puritan community has also in some sense been redeemed?


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