| A | B |
|---|
| Which edition is the preface to this novel? | 2nd |
| What year was this preface written? | 1850 |
| What does Hawthorne write of in his first few lines? | suprise and amusement |
| What does he call the Custom House? | an official sketch of life |
| The reaction could not have been more violent if... | he had burned down the custom house and thrown blood on it |
| Who does Hawthorne harbor a peculiar malevolence? | Custom Instpector |
| What is the tone of the preface? | condescending |
| Why won't Hawthorne change what he has written? | he believes it |
| Which part of the novel does the preface apply to? | The Custom House intro |
| What motives does he disclaim | personal and political |
| What city is the preface written from? | Salem |
| What is the subtitle to The Custom House? | Introductory to The Scarlet Letter |
| What point of view is the Custom House written? | third person |
| How is Salem currently characterized? | desolate |
| What was Salem like years ago? | busy wharf |
| What US symbol is in front of the Custom House? | Eagle |
| What street runs outside the Custom House? | Derby |
| By what moniker does he call the building itself? | Old Manse |
| what is the name of the grave-yard that is mentioned? | Charter Street burial ground |
| Who is the father of the Custom House? | permanent inspector |
| What is in the package that Hawthorne finds in the Custom House? | the actual letter |
| What is the title of the first chapter? | The Prison Door |
| What was the door to the jail made of? | Oak |
| What are the spikes on the door made of? | iron |
| What distinguishes the men in the throng? | bearded |
| What shape are their hat? | steeple |
| What two things were the first things built? | jail and cemetery |
| In what month does chapter 1 take place? | June |
| What plant grows outside the jail door? | rosebush |
| what are the delicate gems referrred to at the end of chapter 1? | flowers |
| What is the tone of chapter 1? | somber |
| What is not one of the crimes people go to the jail for? | murder |
| What are the 2 non-puritain sects? | Antimonian and Quaker. |
| Whose widow is Mistress Hibbins? | The magistrate's. |
| How does the narrator describe the former queen of England, Elizabeth I? | man like |
| Who thinks that Hester's punishment/sentence is too light? | The women of town. |
| Who is named as Hester's pastor in Chapter 2? | Reverend Dimmesdale. |
| One person suggest that Hester should have an iron brand burned where? | On her forehead. |
| How old is the baby in Hester's arms when we first see her? | Three months. |
| What color is the thread that embroiders the scarlet letter? | Gold. |
| What color is Hester's hair? | Dark. |
| Hawthorne surmises that if there were a Papist in the crowd, whom would Hester remind him of? | The Virgin Mary. |
| Who is NOT among the crowd shaming Hester? | Hester's parents. |
| What is the title of Chapter 3? | The Recognition. |
| . To whom does this description refer: "a seemingly careless arrangement of his heterogeneous garb"? | Chillingworth. |
| What is one of Chillingworth's distinguishing physical features? | One of his shoulders is higher than the other. |
| . The following description of clothing belongs to which community leader: "a dark feather in his hat, a border of embroidery on his cloak, and a black velvet tunic beneath"? | : Bellingham. |
| Which minister in the book has "a border of grizzled locks beneath his skull-cap" and gray eyes? | Wilson. |
| Whose voice is "tremulously sweet, rich, deep and broken?" | Dimmesdale's. |
| The title of Chapter 4, "The Interview," refers to the meeting between which two characters? | Hester and Chillingworth. |
| Where is Hester when she and Pearl are examined by the doctor? | In jail |
| When the doctor gives Hester something to drink, what does she think is in the cup? | Poison. |
| What is the "pedestal of infamy?" | The scaffold. |
| Who is Hester's legal husband? | Chillingworth. |
| Whose name does the doctor want Hester to reveal? | The name of her lover. |
| "Hester at her WHAT" is the title of Chapter 5? | Needle. |
| The title of Chapter 5 refers to what? | Hester's work. |
| Who, in Chapter 5, is referred to as "the figure,Why does Hester stay in New England? | It is the scene of her crime. |
| Where was Hester's "happy infancy and stainless maidenhood?" | Rural England. |
| Hester's work is seen everywhere with the exception of: | At weddings. |
| Chapter 6 is named after which character? | Pearl. |
| How does Hester dress her daughter? | In the "richest tissue." |
| Which character is described as having a "wildflower prettiness?" | Pearl. |
| Who is described as a/an "intolerant brood?" | The Puritans. |
| According to the narrator, what is the first thing that Pearl noticed, as a baby? | The scarlet letter. |
| What is Hester delivering to the governor's house when she goes there in Chapter 7? | Gloves. |
| Which field had Bellingham trained for/been educated in? | Law. |
| What does Pearl desperately desire from the governor's garden? | A rose. |
| What quiets Pearl in this when she wants something from the governor's garden? | The appearance of the governor. |
| The title of Chapter 8 is the what and "the Minister?" | The Elf-Child and the Minister. |
| Who is with the governor when Hester visits his house to deliver something? | Wilson, Dimmesdale and Chillingworth. |
| . At the governor's house when the men are debating Hester's custody, what does one of them say Pearl should have been named? | : Ruby, Coral or Red Rose. |
| Why is Pearl's mother questioned about whether or not she should have custody of the baby? | Because of her sin. |
| When Wilson asks Pearl who made her, what does she answer? | That her mother had picked her off a rose bush. |
| Which man in at the governor's argues that Hester should be allowed to keep Pearl? | Dimmesdale. |
| What is the health problem wrong with Dimmesdale? | Failing health. |
| Where does Chillingworth take up residence? | In the same rooming house as Dimmesdale. |
| . The following description of someone's eyes in Chapter 10 refers to which character: "burning blue and ominous, like the reflection of a furnace....like one of those gleams of ghastly fire"? | Chillingworth. |
| Where has Chillingworth been gathering herbs, when he is asked by the minister in Chapter 10? | In a graveyard. |
| Which character says, ironically, "why should a wretched man, guilty, we will say, of murder, prefer to keep the dead corpse buried in his own heart, rather than fling it forth at once"? | Dimmesdale |
| Whom do Dimmesdale and Chillingworth see out the window at the end of Chapter 10? | Hester and Pearl. |
| . Which character seeks to make him or herself "the one trusted friend, to whom should be confided all the fear"? | Chillingworth. |
| While his health is failing, Dimmesdale has achieved what in his profession? | "Brillant popularity." |
| What, at the end of Chapter 11, is the "only truth" for Dimmesdale? | "The anguish in his inmost soul." |
| Where does the minister go in the beginning of Chapter 12? | To the scaffold. |
| In what month does this "obscure night" take place in Chapter 12? | May. |
| Where does Dimmesdale imagine a "scarlet token?" | On his chest. |
| Why is Dimmesdale at the town center Chapter 12? | To proclaim his guilt in public. |
| Who is said to ride "with Satan through the air?" | Witches. |
