ENGLISH - the scarlet letter (test)

who wrote the scarlet letter?

• nathaniel hawthorne was born in 1804, in salem, massachusetts

who was nathaniel’s father?

• his father was a sea captain and descendent of john hawthorne, one of the judges in the salem witch trials of 1692 — hawthorne showed much interest in the puritan period in america

• father died when he was 4, grew up in seclusion with his widowed mother

what did hawthorne and herman melville share in common?

they found in mother nature and human nature to be radical contradictions, NOT accounted by other writers of the era

(TRUE / FALSE) hawthorne’s work encountered life in its tragic dimension and understood evil to be inherit in life

TRUE

what main literary device did hawthorne use to great effect?

symbolism

sin, pain, and evil (EXIST / DO NOT EXIST)

EXIST

hawthorne’s writing holds the reader’s attention through …

dread of a series of terrible possibilities

in general, what does the scarlet letter represent?

it is a supernatural symbol, it represents the woman’s sexuality

___ tell the narrative of a woman

men

describe the first part’s setting of the scarlet letter

• it is considered a frame narrative

• the author tells about his life working at the custom house in salem, massachusetts

what does the narrator do during the introduction?

• he discovers records in the attic, pieces together the story of hester prynne, an adulterous woman in puritan salem

• this novel is his account of the story gathered from documents

what two main themes does hawthorne explore in his story?

• what happens when a private sin becomes a public crime?

• hawthorne plays with what is worse: public shame or hidden suffering

where does the scarlet letter take place?

boston in the 1640s

describe this era of society

• boston was founded by 1000 english puritans, led by john winthrop

• not religiously tolerate, although they sought freedom for their own beliefs

• strict standards of behavior

• no aspect of life was truly private

  • people kept a close watch on their neighbors

• those considered sinners were publicly and harshly punished, as an example to others

when did american romanticism take place?

early 1800s to 1865

was freedom important during this era?

YES — freedom was significant

• contrasts puritan values, they believed everyone affected each other’s salvation

american romanticism followed what era…

the age of reason (the revolutionary period)

during american romanticism, what overpowered reason?

feeling and intuition

how was faith incorporated during this era?

places faith in inner experience and power of imagination

(SHUNS / SEEKS) the artificiality of civilization and (SHUNS / SEEKS) unspoiled nature

SHUNS, SEEKS

did this era prefer youthful innocence or educated sophistication?

youthful innocence

(TRUE / FALSE) this era championed individual freedom and worth of the individual

TRUE

(TRUE / FALSE) this era disregarded nature’s beauty and did not view it as a path to spiritual and moral devlopment

FALSE, the opposite is true

(TRUE / FALSE) this era found beauty in exotic locales, the supernatural realm, and the inner world of the imagination

TRUE

define this characteristic of romanticism: INTEREST IN THE COMMON MAN AND CHILDHOOD

• romantics believed in the natural goodness of humans which is hindered by the urban life of civilization

• they believed that the savage is noble, childhood is good and the emotions inspired by both beliefs causes the heart to soar

define this characteristic of romanticism: STRONG SENSES, EMOTIONS, AND FEELINGS

• romantics believed that knowledge is gained through intuition rather than deduction

• this is best summed up by wordsworth who stated that “all good poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings”

define this characteristic of romanticism: AWE OF NATURE

• romantics stressed the awe of nature in art and language and the experience of sublimity through a connection with nature

• romantics rejected the rationalization of nature by the previous thinkers of the enlightenment period

define this characteristic of romanticism: CELEBRATION OF THE INDIVIDUAL

• romantics often elevated the achievements of the misunderstood, heroic individual outcast

define this characteristic of romanticism: IMPORTANCE OF IMAGINATION

• romantics legitimized the individual imagination as a critical authority