The Scarlet Letter Discussion
Leader--Leiser
Chapter 24
1. What do the following colors represent throughout the book?
a. Red (pg 67)
b. Grey/Black (Pg 300)
c. Yellow/Gold (Pg 315)
d. Green (Pg 227)
e. White
2. What do these characters represent? Why are they present in the book? What is their
purpose?
a. Hester Prynne
b. Pearl
c. Arthur Dimmesdale
d. Roger Chillingworth
e. Governor Bellingham
f. Mistress Hibbens
3. What does the bird symbolize throughout the book? (Some examples on pages 216)
4. What is the significance of day and night?
5. What is “wild” referred to and why is it significant? (Pg 314)
6. What does fire and burning represent? (Page 65)
7. Why does Chillingworth give all his land to Pearl?
8. Why does Hester return to her old home?
9. What does the black man represent?
10. What is the connection between Dimmesdale and Chillingworth’s deaths?
11. What is the significance of the grave in paragraph 12?
12. How has Chillingworth changed between the beginning of the book and the end?
13. Why would people go to Hester with their problems? Did the people ever show respect
toward her? Why now?
14. Why would Chillingworth give his land to Pearl? Are there any places in the book that
suggest that he has any compassion toward Hester or Pearl?
15. Why is it significant that Pearl made a good life for herself after the events in the book?
16. Page 333, paragraph 4
a. “Be true! Be true! Be true! Show freely to the world, if not your worst, yet some trait
whereby the worst may be inferred!” What does this quote infer?
17. Page 333, paragraph 7
a. What happens to Chillingworth after Dimmesdale dies? What does the “uprooted
weed” remind you of?
18. Page 334, Paragraph 7—what kind of symbolism do you see in this paragraph?
19. Page 335, paragraph 10—Why would Hester choose to return to the village instead of living
with Pearl?
20. Page 335, paragraph 12
a. Who was Hester buried next to ?
b. What does the inscription mean?
21. Does this story end the way you expected?
22. All the characters in The Scarlet Letter make mistakes. They all have their own agendas, and
they all succumb at one point or another to human desires and fallacies.
a. Who is the antagonist?
b. Who is the chief villain?
c. Is there an antagonist?
23. Do you think that the government should have laws such as this adultery law in place?
24. How has society changed from the way it is in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s book, to the way it is
now?