The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne Quizzes and Answer Keys for High School

Evaluate general reading comprehension and eliminate assessment planning responsibilities with this bundle of plot-based quizzes covering the entirety of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. Each quiz may double as a guided reading worksheet to support engagement and promote accountability. Answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. (Alternatively, a self-grading bundle option is available.) Information on each individual assessment follows.

Chapters 1-4. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the following:

• Setting

• What (or who) Hester carries in her arms

• The letter with which Hester is marked

• The accusation against Hester

• John Wilson's job

• Dimmesdale's job

• Demands placed upon Hester

• Whether or not Hester follows through on those demands

• Chillingworth's relation to Hester

• Chillingworth's intentions

Chapters 5-9. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the following:

• The name of Hester's daughter

• The narrator's commentary on where people tend to be situated

• How Hester makes money

• Hester's treatment of the community

• The daughter's social isolation

• How townspeople attempt to complicate Hester's relationship with her child

• Bellingham's role

• Hester's assessment of the roles of her daughter in her life

• Chillingworth's deception

• Where Chillingworth lives

• Why Chillingworth comes to despise a neighbor

• How townspeople perceive Chillingworth

Chapters 10-14. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the following:

• Dimmesdale's mindset

• The effect of his mindset on his sermons

• Pearl's age

• Hester's nickname

• The new meaning of Hester's "A"

• Dimmesdale's climbing up to the scaffold

• Whether Dimmesdale considers admitting his sins publicly

• Dimmesdale's promise to Pearl

• A sudden event in the sky

• Hester's interaction with Chillingworth

• Hester's perspective on how much influence magistrates should have on whether her letter should be removed

Chapters 15-20. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the following:

• Pearl's playful behavior

• Pearl's curiosities

• Hester's reaction to Pearl's repeated questioning

• Where Hester plans to meet Dimmesdale

• How light interacts with Hester and Pearl respectively

• How Dimmesdale believes he could achieve inner peace

• The only sin worse than hypocrisy, according to Dimmesdale

• Why Pearl becomes reluctant to approach her mother

• The plan for Hester and Dimmesdale's shared future

• Dimmesdale's unexpected behaviors

Chapters 21-24. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the following:

• Chillingworth's deception

• Dimmesdale's outward appearance as he begins his sermon

• Mistress Hibbins' remarks about Dimmesdale

• Where Hester is when the sermon is delivered

• The ship master's offering to Pearl

• The nature of the sermon

• How the public reacts to the sermon

• The narrator's view on what the story's lesson is

• What Chillingworth willed to Pearl

• Where Hester and Pearl move to

• Whether Hester returns to the Boston area

• Where Hester is eventually laid to rest

Resources are available for teaching several pieces by Nathaniel Hawthorne:

• "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment" - Google and printable

• "Graves and Goblins" - Google and printable

• "The Birthmark" - Google and printable

• "The Hollow of the Three Hills" - Google and printable

• "The Minister's Black Veil" - Google and printable

• "Young Goodman Brown" - Google and printable