1. Welcome! The Topic For Today Is…

2. The Scarlet Letter Romanticism Hawthorne and the Scarlet Letter
Characters and Conflicts
Plot and Literary Elements
Random
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200
400
600
800
1000
Bonus Question: 5000 pts

3. Topic 1: 200
Question:
Romanticism was a reaction against this philosophy.
Answer
Rationalism
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4. Topic 1: 400 Question: When and where did the Romantic Movement begin?
Answer
Germany in the second half of the 18th century
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5. Topic 1: 600
Question:
Identify one of the similarities between Romanticism and Transcendentalism.
Answer
Interest in the spiritual world
Valued intuition and imagination over rationalism
Explored the mysteries of human existence
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6. Topic 1: 800
Question:
Identify one of the differences between Romanticism and Transcendentalism.
Answer
The Transcendentalists believed the divine was implicit in nature
The Transcendentalists believed that people are essentially good
The Dark Romantics focused on the darker side of human nature
The Dark Romantics acknowledged the presence of suffering in the world
The Dark Romantics acknowledged the ongoing conflict between good and evil
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7. Topic 1: 1000
Question:
List the four characteristics of Romanticism from your notes.
Answer
Affirmation of feeling and intuition over reason
Faith in imagination, inner experience, and youthful innocence, rather than educated sophistication
Belief in the unspoiled natural world, as opposed to the artificiality of civilization
Regard for individual freedom and the worth of the individual
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8. Topic 2: 200 Question: Where was Hawthorne born? Answer
Salem, Massachusetts
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9. Topic 2: 400
Question:
What position did Hawthorne hold that might have informed his writing of the “Custom House Introduction” to the novel?
Answer
He once worked in the Salem custom house
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10. Topic 2: 600 Question: When did Hawthorne publish The Scarlet Letter?
Answer
1850
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11. Topic 2: 800
Question:
The Scarlet Letter is representative of which literary movement?
Answer
Romanticism—specifically Dark Romanticism with distinctive Gothic elements
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12. Topic 2: 1000
Question:
Why have scholars concluded that Hawthorne assumed the guilt of his Puritan ancestry?
Answer
His great-great-grandfather was a judge in the Salem Witch Trials and he changed the spelling of his name to distance himself. It is also evident because of the themes and setting he deals with in some of his literary works.
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13. Topic 3: 200
Question:
Literary scholars have hailed this character as the first true heroine in American literature.
Answer
Hester Prynne
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14. Topic 3: 400
Question:
Which character is referred to as “the Leech”? (F&L)
Answer
Roger Chillingworth
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15. Topic 3: 600 Question: Which character is reputed to be a witch?
Answer
Mistress Hibbins
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16. Topic 3: 800
Question:
Which character is the living embodiment of the scarlet letter?
Answer
Pearl is the living embodiment of Hester’s sin.
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17. Topic 3: 1000
Question:
Chillingworth is the greatest sinner in the novel because he violates the human heart through what?
Answer
His obsession with vengeance
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18. Topic 4: 200 Question: How does Hester Prynne earn a living? Answer
Through her needlework
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19. Topic 4: 400
Question:
What gesture does the Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale make throughout the novel?
Answer
He places his hand over his heart
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20. Topic 4: 600
Question:
After years of wearing the scarlet letter, many believe the letter “A” to stand for
Answer
Able
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21. Topic 4: 800
Question:
How does Chillingworth figure out that Dimmesdale is Pearl’s father?
Answer
Chillingworth becomes Dimmesdale’s physician and guesses the secret because of Dimmesdale’s declining health and peculiar behavior
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22. Topic 4: 1000 Question: What is ironic about the first scaffold scene?
Answer
Dimmesdale is called upon to ask Hester who has fathered her child when he is, in fact, the father
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23. Topic 5: 200
Question:
During their walk in the forest, Hester convinces Dimmesdale to do what?
Answer
To run away with her and live elsewhere
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24. Topic 5: 400
Question:
How does Hester respond when she finds out the Puritan council might allow her to remove the scarlet letter?
Answer
She indicates only God can remove her letter
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25. Topic 5: 600
Question:
How does Pearl react when Hester removes the scarlet letter while they are in the forest with Dimmesdale?
Answer
She acts as though she doesn’t recognize her
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26. Topic 5: 800
Question:
How does Hawthorne characterize the Puritan society?
Answer
He presents the reader with contradictory images and hypocrisy and emphasizes the Puritan’s judgmental self-righteousness
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27. Topic 5: 1000
Question:
List the three conjectures mentioned toward the end of the novel for how the scarlet letter came to be upon Dimmesdale’s breast:
Answer
Chillingworth caused it to appear there through the agency of magic and poisonous drugs
It was the result of Dimmesdale’s self-inflicted torture
It was a result of Heaven’s dreadful judgment and the active tooth of remorse, gnawing from the inmost heart outwardly
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28. Bonus Question: 5000 pts. Question:
Identify verbatim the “sweet moral blossom” Hawthorne says the reader can glean from the poor minister’s miserable experience.
Answer
“Be true! Be true! Be true! Show freely to the world, if not your worst, yet some trait whereby the worst may be inferred!”
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29. Daily Double The Winner Of The Last Round Write Down How Much Money
You Are Willing To Risk
If You get the Question write you win that money
If you get it wrong you Loss the money!

30. Support your answer with evidence from the text.
Daily Double
Was there really a scarlet letter on Dimmesdale’s breast? If so, conduct a close reading to determine which explanation Hawthorne seem to favor for how it came to be there.
Support your answer with evidence from the text.