The Scarlet Letter Reading Schedule
The Scarlet Letter Reading Schedule
English 11 Ms. Solano
Hawthorne’s writing style and word usage can seem strange to the modern “ear”. The trick with Hawthorne
is to try to understand the backbone of each sentence. Remember that in colonial times law and religion were
inseparable.
Guiding Questions: Does Hawthorn approve of Puritans?
How does the scarlet “A” change in meaning throughout the novel?
Days Due * Chapters Due Days Due Chapters Due
Day 1. Wed. -9/2Chapters 1-2 Day 6. Mon., 9/21Chapters 14-15
Day 2. Mon. -9/7Chapters 3-4 Day 7. Wed., 9/23Chapters 16-17
Day 3. Wed. -9/9Chapters 5-7 Day 8. Mon. -9/28Chapters 18-19
Day 4. Mon. – 9/14Chapters 8-10 (Quiz 1-7) Day 9. Wed. -9/30Chapters 20-21
Day 5. Wed. -9/16Chapters 11-13 Day 10. Tue. -10/5 Chapters 22-24 (Quiz 1-24)
Students are responsible for the reading the chapters by each due date.
Complete these questions in preparation for a final examination on Thursday, November20, 2013.
Chapters 1- 2:
1. Identify Hester Prynne and the person on the scaffold with her?
2. What is the setting?
3. What emblem does Hester have to wear? Why is she sentenced to wear it?
4. How do the people in the crowd speak of her?
5. What do iron and the rosebush symbolize?
6. What/who is beadle?
7. What is the most difficult thing for Hester as she stands before the crowd?
Chapters 3-4
1. Who is the man Hester recognizes in the crowd?
2. What does someone in the crowd say Hester is refusing to reveal?
3. Who does the governor say is responsible for Hester’s soul?
4. Why is someone called to into the jail to aid the baby?
5. What does this person (person summoned to help) vow to Hester?
6. Why does Hester fear him?
Chapters 5-7
1. When Hester is released, where does she go? Why doesn’t she run away to a different settlement?
2. What does she do to support herself?
3. What is the name of Hester’s child? Why?
4. How does Hester dress?
5. Describe Hester’s daughter: her physical appearance and her personality.
6. What does Hester and her daughter see in the breastplate of the armor? What is the exaggeration’s significance?
Chapters 8-10
1. Mr. Wilson asks Pearl, “Cants thou tell me, my child, who made thee?” What is Pearl’s response? Why does she
say this?
2. What convinces the Governor to let Hester keep Pearl?
3. How does Roger Chillingworth become Dimmesdale’s medical advisor?
4. Who is the leech? Why is he called this in the title of the chapter?
5. Why does Rev. Dimmesdale rush from the room to end the conversation he has with Roger Chillingworth?
Chapters 11—13
1. What does Rev. Dimmesdale’s congregation think of him? Why is this ironic?
2. Where does Rev. Dimmesdale go at midnight? Why?
3. What does Pearl ask Rev. Dimmesdale?
4. What “sign” does the meteor make in the sky?
5. Where have Mr. Wilson, Hester, Pearl, and Roger Chillingworth been that night to all be walking by the scaffold
at midnight?
6. What changes have come about in Hester in the seven years since Pearl’s birth? Why?
Chapters 14-17
1. What does Hester tell Roger Chillingworth when they meet on the peninsula?
2. Why do Hester and Pearl go to the forest?
3. What does Pearl answer when Hester asks her what she thinks the scarlet letter means?
4. When Rev. Dimmesdale finds out that Roger Chillingworth is out for revenge, he knows his religious career in
Boston will be at an end, and his life will be miserable. What does Hester suggest?
5. What do the sunshine and the forest symbolize?
Chapters 18-21
1. What causes a moment of “estrangement” between Pearl and Hester?
2. What does Hester have to do by the brook before Pearl would come across?
3. Rev. Dimmesdale kisses Pearl. What does she do in response?
4. How does Rev. Mr. Dimmesdale’s attitude change after he decides to leave Boston with Hester/
Chapters 22-24
1. What shocking news does the commander of the Bristol ship bring Hester?
2. What disappoints Hester when Mr. Dimmesdale passes by?
3. What is ironic about the scene in the square as Dimmesdale gives the Election Day speech?
4. What does Mr. Dimmesdale tell the people of New England before he dies?
5. What do the people see when Mr. Dimmesdale takes off his ministerial band?
6. What happens to Hester, Pearl and Roger Chillingworth?
The Scarlet Letter
Nathaniel Hawthorne