... sinners is because of the Puritan beliefs of the time period. This is the driving force between the actions of the characters. The setting of a religiously intolerant village is also the main reason behind the conflict that lies in each plot. The conflicts in both works of literature are also similar. The same thing, the excessively devout town in which the setting takes place, causes them both. The conflict in The Scarlet Letter that occurs between Dimmesdale ... , Hester, and Chillingworth; is caused by the towns intolerance for ... ...

• Word Count: 578
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... father, only a heavenly one. Chillingworth vows to find out the father and get his revenge. Hawthorne also connects Hester's openly displayed shame with Dimmesdale's secret shame by having them both touch the stop where the scarlet letter is simultaneously. The second scaffold scene, also the climax of the plot, occurs in chapter 12. As a result of his guilt, Dimmesdale mounts the scaffold late one night, while Chillingworth cautiously watches in ... the darkness nearby. Hester and Pearl, who are out late because she had taken measurements for ... ...

• Word Count: 443
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

Much of the novel, "The Scarlet Letter" centers around determining the identity of Hester's lover, Pearl's father. While Hawthorne is not gratuitous with this information, he does give the reader subtle hints as to the man's identity. Using plot points, dialogue, or other specific descriptions from the text, pick out at least three places from the first half of the novel (through "The Leech") that lead the reader to believe what is ... ultimately true: that Arthur Dimmesdale has a very big secret. Hawthorne gives the reader subtle hints throughout the first half of the novel that ... ...

• Word Count: 582
• Approx Pages: 2