Chapters I and II 1.

The founders of a new colony must apportion some land for a cemetery and designate a portion for a prison immediately. 2. The rose bush outside the prison is supposed to have sprung up under Ann Hutchinsons footsteps. 3. The townspeople of Boston have gathered to witness a spectacle of public discipline, in this case, dealing with Hester Prynnes crime of adultery. She has to wear a scarlet letter A on her chest, and her punishment is by pillory, where she is to be exposed to ridicule and scorn by the townspeople. 4. The scarlet letter embroidered on Hesters gown is a symbol of her crime of adultery. When some townspeople criticize the beautiful way it has been stitched onto her clothing, it is realized that not only is it a physical punishment, but an emotional one as well incorporating the mortification she feels at having to wear the letter and of openly displaying her offense for the public to see. 5. The conclusion can be made that law plays a great role in life due to the fact that every new colony must provide a prison and a cemetery at once. Prisons are the central aspects of the imposition of law. It can be inferred that the authority is severe, and punishments are harsh and often result in death, hence the need for a cemetery. 6. Most of the townspeople regard Hesters punishment as too lenient. 7. I agree that the harshest aspect of punishment by pillory is that it prevents the confined person from hiding his or her face because people typically want a good name and reputation in society. It makes it so much the worse that they must embarrass themselves further by being exposed to public disdain and having nowhere to take refuge or engage in personal reflections without being humiliated at the same time. The person must face not only their own shame with this punishment, but the contempt with which his or her fellow townspeople view him or her. 8. Hester reflects on her childhood while she is standing on the scaffold in order to take her mind away from the view of the townspeople staring down at her with contempt. This glimpse of her past suggests that her family background is something she is comfortable with and able to reflect on in order to temporarily forget about her present situation. Her memory expresses that her paternal home had fallen from a higher state of gentility. 9. I agree that scornful mockery would be crueler than the alternative attitudes the townspeople possess. They are not pitiless enough to openly mock and ridicule Hester, which would have been harsher than only expressing ridicule inwardly. Hester already has to expose herself to embarrassment by standing on the pillory, and it would be pure malice that would instigate one of the townspeople to mock her situation. Chapter III 1. The stranger who appears at the outskirts of the crowd while Hester stands on the scaffold is slightly deformed in that one of his shoulders rises higher than the other (left higher than the right). 2. The stranger explains to the townsman that he was taken captive by Indians and has traveled and suffered misfortunes by land and sea in order to account for his combination of civilized and savage costume. 3. The severest possible penalty for adultery in the Massachusetts Colony is death. 4. Hester has to stand on the scaffold for three hours. She must wear the scarlet letter for the rest of her life.

5. Nathaniel Hawthorne gives clues to the identity of the stranger. He describes his shoulder height deformity, which Hester had noted in her memory of the past. Hester recognizes this man, and he recognizes her, but signals to her that he wants his identity kept quiet. The stranger seems horrified at the situation and enters convulsions, hinting that he is not aware of Hesters crime and punishment. 6. I think that this vow of the strangers that Hesters lovers identity will be known will be very important in the rest of the novel because at the moment, there is an air of mystery in that there is a missing person in the sphere of this punishment. This mystery will most likely help shape the plot and develop a system of relationships, mysteries, and secrets. 7. According to Reverend Dimmesdale, Hester can help her unknown lover atone for his sin by revealing his name. It would be better for him to stand on the pedestal next to Hester than to be guilt-ridden for the rest of his life. 8. The Reverend Wilson interprets the babys response to Dimmesdales entreaty in asserting that the baby [confirms] the counsel (20). Others believe that the baby should be given a father. I think the babys response may influence the course of the novel in shaping her character and opinions. She is an illegitimate child whose mother only wants her to have a spiritual father, and this may result in various conflicts. 9. I believe that the Reverend Dimmesdale was holding his breath in suspense until he heard Hesters answer because he is in fact the father of the baby and doesnt want his reputation in the town to be tarnished by his misdemeanor. The young minister is probably feeling a mass of emotions to include insecurity, guilt, relief, and affection for Hester in that she has concealed his name and taken all of the punishment upon herself. Chapter IV 1. Roger Chillingworth is to lodge in the prison while the authorities work out his ransom with the Indians 2. Chillingworths old studies in alchemy and his residence with the Indians, who know much about medicinal roots and herbs, equipped him to be a physician. 3. Hester at first resists Chillingworths attempts to give the baby medicine because she thinks he is taking revenge on her for her unfaithful act, being her husband, by harming her baby, who is innocent. 4. Chillingworth makes Hester promise that she will keep his identity as her former husband secret. 5. Suspicions are confirmed that Chillingworth is Hesters husband when he says, from the moment when we came down the old church steps together, a married pair, I might have beheld the bale-fire of that scarlet letter blazing at the end of our path! (27). 6. Chillingworth seeks no vengeance against Hester because he blames himself for her search for passion in her life. He, being old and solemn, sought to bring Hester close to his heart in order to bring happiness into his life and add warmth to hers. Chillingworth explains to Hester, Mine was the first wrong, when I betrayed thy budding youth into a false and unnatural relation with my decay (27). Hester is not meant to be with a man like Chillingworth, but with a man of youth, fancy, and passion. 7. When Chillingworth says of the father of Hesters child, I shall read (the letter of infamy) on his heart, he means that although the father doesnt wear a scarlet letter as Hester does, identifying him as one who has committed an unlawful act, Chillingworth will see the intangible element of fault through his character and discover who is the father of his

former wifes child. Through unwavering dedication, Chillingworth will see the guilt embedded in this mystery mans heart and thus fulfill his quest. 8. Chillingworth would have emphasized the words thy and thine when he said Not thy soul. . . .No not thine! (29). He says this in response to Hesters question, Hast thou enticed me into a bond that will prove the ruin of my soul? (29). Chillingworth is not referring to Hesters soul, but to her partners soul. Chillingworth is asserting that he is seeking revenge on this man. This foreshadows the detriment that will be inflicted upon this man, possibly even death.