XX. The Minister in a Maze Quiz — The Scarlet Letter

by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Comprehension Quiz: XX. The Minister in a Maze

Where do Dimmesdale and Hester plan to sail to when they leave Boston?

  • Amsterdam
  • Bristol, England
  • Paris, France
  • The Spanish Main

Why is Dimmesdale especially pleased about the timing of the ship's departure?

  • It allows him to sell his belongings first
  • It gives him time to deliver his Election Sermon before leaving
  • Pearl's birthday falls on that day
  • Chillingworth will be away from town on that date

What blasphemous thought does Dimmesdale nearly share with the elderly deacon?

  • A denial of the existence of God
  • Certain blasphemous suggestions about the communion supper
  • A confession of his affair with Hester
  • A plan to overthrow the church hierarchy

Did Dimmesdale actually whisper the argument against immortality of the soul to the devout old woman?

  • Yes, it happened
  • No, it did not happen

How does Dimmesdale resist the temptation posed by the young maiden?

  • He crosses to the other side of the street
  • He holds his Geneva cloak before his face and hurries past
  • He stops and delivers a brief sermon to her
  • He asks Pearl to walk with him as a shield

Did Dimmesdale teach wicked words to the group of Puritan children?

  • Yes, it happened
  • No, it did not happen

What does Mistress Hibbins suggest about Dimmesdale's forest visit?

  • That he went to consult with Native Americans
  • That he met with the Devil in the woods
  • That he was spying on Roger Chillingworth
  • That he went to collect medicinal herbs

How does Dimmesdale explain his forest trip to both Mistress Hibbins and Chillingworth?

  • He says he was gathering wildflowers for the church
  • He claims he was visiting the Apostle Eliot
  • He admits he met with Hester Prynne
  • He says he was lost in contemplation and prayer

In the sentence "So great a vicissitude in his life could not at once be received as real," what does "vicissitude" mean?

  • Disappointment
  • A sudden important change in circumstances
  • Religious conversion
  • Moral failing

What does Hawthorne identify as the root cause of Dimmesdale's wicked impulses?

  • A spell cast by Mistress Hibbins
  • Poison secretly administered by Chillingworth
  • His deliberate choice to embrace what he knew was deadly sin
  • Physical exhaustion from his walk through the forest

What does "irrefragable" mean in the phrase "no evidence, at once so slight and irrefragable, of a subtle disease"?

  • Easily broken
  • Impossible to deny or refute
  • Barely noticeable
  • Deeply troubling

What does Dimmesdale do with his partially written Election Sermon?

  • He finishes it as originally planned
  • He asks Chillingworth to review it
  • He throws it into the fire and writes a new one overnight
  • He gives it to Hester to read

Did Dimmesdale accept Chillingworth's offer of medical aid in this chapter?

  • Yes, it happened
  • No, it did not happen

Which of the following best describes the meaning of the chapter title "The Minister in a Maze"?

  • Dimmesdale gets physically lost in the forest on his way home
  • Dimmesdale is trapped in a psychological labyrinth of conflicting moral impulses
  • The town streets have been rearranged and Dimmesdale cannot find his way
  • Chillingworth has set an elaborate trap for Dimmesdale

Comprehension Quiz

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