The Scarlet Letter

Lesson 6
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ELA

Unit 7

11th Grade

Lesson 6 of 26

Objective


Analyze Hawthorne’s characterization of Roger Chillingworth.

Readings and Materials


  • Book: The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne  — Chapter 4: The Interview

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Target Task


Question 1

What does the phrase, “I might have beheld the bale-fire of that scarlet letter blazing at the end of our path,” on p. 16, most suggest about Chillingworth?

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Sample Response

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Question 2

It can be reasonably inferred from this chapter that Chillingworth has come to town to

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Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer to the previous question?

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Question 3

What kind of person is Roger Chillingworth? Explain using evidence from the novel to support your answer.

Key Questions


  • Look back at pp. 7 and 9. What do we know so far about this stranger in the crowd? What don’t we know? Track any information we get on who he is and his motivation for being in this small town at this moment.
  • How does the narrator describe Hester and the baby in the first paragraph of p. 14? How does Hester change when the “doctor,” Roger Chillingworth, enters?
  • What does his name imply about this character? Track the diction used by the author to show his “chilling” impact on Hester and on the mood of the scene?
  • What does he mean on p. 15, “It may be less soothing than a sinless conscience.”?
  • What do we learn about the doctor—his identity and his motivation, specifically—on pp. 15 and 16?
  • Chillingworth wants revenge on Hester’s lover but not on Hester. Why?
  • What does Chillingworth mean when he says, “No matter of love or hate…and where he is,” on p. 17? What does this reveal about Chillingworth? About the relationship between love and hate as he sees it?
  • What secret does Chillingworth want Hester to keep? Why? (Make sure to capture two reasons.)
  • Who is the Black Man Hester mentions on p. 18?
  • What does the forest/wilderness represent? Look back at the mentions of the forest and wilderness on pp. 9, 15, 16, and 18. What happens there?
  • Hawthorne juxtaposes the forest/wilderness against the Puritan town. What does the town represent?
  • How does the author characterize Chillingworth? What seems to be the author’s general tone toward Chillingworth?
  • Why is this chapter called, “The Interview”? What does this choice of diction suggest?

Next

Analyze Hester’s decision to stay in Boston.

Analyze how Hawthorne develops the theme of isolation in Chapter 5.

Lesson 7
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