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What is the setting?
17th century Boston in the summer, prison, town square, 1642
What do you think of Hester Prynne as she stands with her child before her community? And, what do you think of the members of Hester's community as they watch her?
That she has pride and that the community is very judgemental.
In chapter 1, what condition is Boston's old wooden jail and the plot of land outside the jail?
Water stains which darkened its already gloomy appearance, rust on the door's iron spikes. It looked old and weathered. Overgrown with burdock, pigweed, apple-peru and unsightly vegetation, but there is one bright spot the wild rosebush.
According to the narrator, in what way is the condition of the jail related to its function in the community?
The jail is run down just like the community.
What unusual plant has grown outside the jail, and what do people say in an attempt to explain it?
Wild Rosebush, nature took pity (nature's kindness to the condemned) and offered some beauty to the criminals walking in to serve their terms or heading out to face their executions - it may provide a "sweet moral blossom" or some relief in the face of unrelenting sorrow and gloom. This particular rosebush has "been kept alive in history," and "sprung up under the footsteps of sainted Ann Hutchinson," who was a very powerful and influential woman for her time. The rose bush is a symbol of defiance in the Massachusetts Bay Colony's strict Puritanical society. The rose bush growing just outside the prison door represents nature's defiance.
What is Hester Prynne's crime, and what is her punishment (name the three punishments)?
Adultery - Go to jail
Wear a scarlet letter "A"
Stand on the scaffold and face criticism for hours
According to the women, in what way has the crime affected Hester's pastor, the Reverend Dimmesdale?
That her godly pastor, takes it very grievously to heart that such a scandal should have come up his congregation.
What do most of Boston's women think of Hester and her punishment?
The women in the crowd make disparaging comments about Hester. They condemn her as loudly as possible. Children taunt her and adults stare as she walks to the scaffold. One woman calls her a "hussy," another "the naughty baggage," (dirty wh0re), and all sorts of horrible names
Why does one young woman disagree with the others?
Because every stitch in the letter "A" took a toll on her heart
What do people say when they see the elaborate scarlet A that Hester has stitched?
They particularly criticize her for the ornateness of the embroidered "A." It is stitched in gold and scarlet. They see her as feeling/declaring herself more proud rather than ashamed of her sin. They also conclude that the "A" on her dress stands for "Adulterer."
Is Hester prideful as she walks through the crowd and stands on the scaffold, as some in the crowd say?
Hester accepts the "sin" and its symbol (the A) as part of herself, just as she accepts Pearl.
Why does Hester feel that the crowd's solemn mood is worse than scornful laughter?
She would prefer to face the humiliation/scrutiny head on, instead of suffering the silent (to her) gossip, pity, and spite.
Of what does Hester dream as she stands on the scaffold?
She sees her parents standing before their home in rural England, then she sees a "misshapen" scholar, much older than herself, whom she married and followed to continental Europe.
What events led her to be in America alone?
She got married young, and her husband sent her ahead and said he'd meet herbut he never came back and got captured.
While she stands on the scaffold, what realization interrupts Hester's thoughts and causes her suddenly to clutch her child and to look down?
The present situation floods her mind, and she squeezes her infant causing it to cry
What about Hester's appearance and her crime seems to bother the community, particularly the other women, the most?
Hawthorne describes Hester as a striking woman, someone whose countenance commands attention. She also has a purity about her exterior that is especially bothersome to the community in light of her "sin." When Hester stands before the community to receive her punishment, she has embroidered a beautiful symbol of shame for herself which implies to the crowd that she isn't remorseful, and yet they cannot help but admire her handiwork and the ornateness of the embroidered "A." It is stitched in gold and scarlet.
What do the attitudes of the crowd say about early Puritan society?
Puritan doctrine views "reality" as merely an obstacle to a world beyond this one. The prison & cemetery are part of their "Utopia," because they know that misbehavior, evil and death are unavoidable, putting heavy emphasis on the idea of original sin-the notion that all people are born sinners because of the transgressions of Adam & Eve
The setting of a literary work is the time and place in which it occurs, together with all the details used to create a sense of a particular time and place. In the opening chapter of the novel, Hawthorne calls The Scarlet Letter "a tale of human frailty and sorrow." What is the setting of The Scarlet Letter? Does this setting add to the mood of the piece? If so, in what way?
Setting for Ch. 1 & 2 is outside of the jail on the scaffold in summer.
Mood, or atmosphere, is the emotion created in the reader by part or all of a literary work. What is the mood of the opening of this novel? Name the concrete details that work together to create the mood.
It describes how the founders of the Puritan colony knew there would be crime so they built a prison. It can be inferred that the mood is cruel because of how everything in the jail is described.
A symbol is a thing that stands for or represents both itself and something else. The Scarlet Letter is rich with symbolism. In the opening chapters, Hawthorne presents several important symbols—the prison, the grass plot overgrown with "unsightly vegetation," a wild rosebush, and the beadle who leads Hester to the scaffold. Hawthorne also presents the first appearance of what will be a recurring symbol—Hester's embroidered scarlet A. What do you think each of these things symbolizes?
The prison - right and wrong, punishment, a place of darkness and sin, The grass plot - the Puritan society and their haphazard rush to judgement, Wild rosebush - hope for renewal, God's grace and beauty, The beadle - representative of the law and order, following the rules, Scarlet "A" - owning your mistakes, Overall - justice versus mercy; punishment versus forgiveness; and judgment versus grace are going to be super important.
Who does Hester notice at the beginning of Ch. 3?
Her husband
What is unusual about the man's shoulders?
One shoulder is higher than the other
When she recognized the man in the crowd, what sign did he give her?
Finger to lips to tell her to be quiet
What information were the church leaders trying to get from her?
They want to know who the baby's (Pearl) father is and ultimately the name of the man she had an affair with
To what animal does Hawthorne compare the "writhing horror" on the man's face?
snake
What is Master Dimmesdale's occupation?
Town minister, more specifically Hester's minister
What group of people has been holding the man in the crowd hostage?
Native Americans/Indians
Who is John Wilson?
One of the town's other pastors
How does Hawthorne describe Dimmesdale?
Very striking, with a white, lofty, and impending brow, large, brown, melancholy eyes, and a mouth which, unless when he forcibly compressed it, was apt to be tremulous, expressing both nervous sensibility and a vast power of self-restraint
What is Dimmesdale trying to get Hester to do?
Name the father and eventually let him give Pearl the medicine.
What is the baby doing while Dimmesdale is questioning Hester?
Reaching out to him
A "physician" was called to the jail to help Hester and her child. Who was he?
Roger Chillingworth - otherwise known as Hester's husband
Why was Hester afraid to give her baby the medicine?
She worries her husband may be trying to poison the child
For what reasons does Roger accept some responsibility for her sin?
He forced/tricked her into marrying him
What does Roger get Hester to promise?
That she won't tell anyone his true identity
Toward what purpose does he obtain this promise?
He says he wants to obtain this promise because he wants to live and die alone. This may be because he wants to avoid the shame of being the husband of a cheating woman, or it may be for other reasons.
What does Roger Chillingworth intend to do about this situation? What does Chillingworth want to find out?
Wants to pitch a tent at the edge of civilization and become a wanderer and to find out who her lover is and get revenge / to find and torment the person who committed adultery with Hester.
At the end of chapter 4, to whom does Hester compare Roger?
The Black Man / Devil
Alchemy
power or process of transforming something common into something precious
Pristine
unspoiled
Ponderous
having great mass and weight and unwieldiness
Impropriety
something improper, incorrect; not appropriate. abate
Physiognomy
facial features held to show qualities of mind or character by their configuration or expression
Haughty
arrogantly disdainful
Personage
A person of rank or note
ignominy
disgraceful or dishonorable conduct, quality, or action
Nucleus
The most important part or person of a group
Penance
Repentance for a misdeed
Demeanor
outward behavior/appearance
Caprice
Whim / sudden desire
Transgress
go beyond limit, commit sin or violate law
Appellation
names or titles
Abashed
cause to be embarrassed
The Summary - Part 1
The Custom-House is a pseudo-autobiographical short story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne to set the context and introduce the themes of The Scarlet Letter. The narrator of The Custom-House' establishes himself as a previous public servant who was terminated from his employment purely for political reasons. He spends some time examining the unjustness of this termination. In discussing the dangers of harming or harassing others due to political reasons, the narrator mentions that his ancestors were involved with and played key roles in the Salem Witch Trials and that they helped persecute/punish many people, especially those who were different than them in terms of religious beliefs and expression.
This introduction (200 years after the events of the Salem Witch Trials) provides a frame for the main narrative of The Scarlet Letter. The nameless narrator, who shares quite a few traits with the book's author, takes a post as the "chief executive officer," or surveyor, of the Salem Custom House. ("Customs" are the taxes paid on foreign imports into a country; a "customhouse" is the building where these taxes are paid.) He finds the establishment to be a run-down place, situated on a rotting wharf in a half-finished building. His fellow workers mostly hold lifetime appointments secured by family connections. They are elderly and tell the same stories over and over. The narrator finds them to be generally incompetent and harmless.
The Summary - Part 2
The narrator spends his days at the custom-house trying to amuse himself because few ships come to Salem anymore. One rainy day he discovers some documents in the building's unoccupied second story. Looking through the pile, he notices a manuscript that is bundled with a scarlet, gold-embroidered piece of cloth in the shape of the letter "A." The narrator examines the scarlet badge and holds it briefly to his chest, but he drops it because it seems to burn him. He then reads the manuscript. It is the work of one Jonathan Pue, who was a customs surveyor a hundred years earlier. An interest in local history led Pue to write an account of events taking place in the middle of the seventeenth century—a century before Pue's time and two hundred years before the narrator's.
The narrator has already mentioned his unease about attempting to make a career out of writing. He believes that his Puritan ancestors, whom he holds in high regard, would find it frivolous and "degenerate." But armed with Pue's documents/information the narrator decides to write a fictional account of what happened to Hester Prynn. It will not be factually precise, but he believes that it will be faithful to the spirit and general outline of the original. While working at the customhouse, surrounded by uninspiring men, the narrator finds himself unable to write. When a new president is elected, he loses his politically appointed job and, settling down before a dim fire in his parlor, begins to write his "romance," which becomes the body of The Scarlet Letter.
Note 
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