Scarlet Letter Intro and Chapters 1-2 Review

Question 1

Why did Nathaniel Hawthorne add a "W" to his last name?

Accepted Answer

To distance himself from a Salem Witch Trials judge ancestor

Question 2

Who or what is Hester Prynne holding as she stands on the scaffold?

Accepted Answer

Her daughter, Pearl

Question 3

Hawthorne made lots of money from The Scarlet Letter immediately after its release.

Accepted Answer

False

Question 4

What occupation does the narrator of "The Custom House" have?

Accepted Answer

Surveyor of The Salem Custom House

Question 5

Where is Hester's husband?

Accepted Answer

England

Question 6

What does the "A" Hester Prynne wears stand for?

Accepted Answer

Adultress

Question 7

Who wrote the manuscript the narrator found?

Accepted Answer

Jonathan Pue

Question 8

Why was Hester put in prison and forced to wear the "A?"

Accepted Answer

Because she had a child out of wetlock/ committed adultery.

Question 9

What does Hester Prynne stand on at the beginning of chapter 2?

Accepted Answer

A scaffold

Question 10

When was The Scarlet Letter published?

Accepted Answer

1849

Question 11

What event causes the narrator to start writing The Scarlet Letter?

Accepted Answer

He loses his job.

Question 12

Why do people criticize Hester's scarlet letter?

Accepted Answer

Because it is ornate and should be plain.

Question 13

What does the narrator find in the manuscript?

Accepted Answer

A gold piece of cloth with an embroidered A.

Questions 13