Puritan Literature Test Questions

There will be five questions on the Puritan Literature test tomorrow. Each answer should be a full paragraph, with good supporting detail from the text.

 

  1. How do the values expressed in “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” manifest themselves in “The Crucible”? How do the characters there demonstrate the beliefs and values of Reverend Edwards?
  2. One of the themes of The Scarlet Letter is Hawthorne’s criticism of the hypocrisy of the Puritan leadership. How does Hawthorne show this criticism?
  3. What did the Puritans mean when they talked about a “city on a hill”?  How did they believe that they could create a more perfect society in America?
  4. What does Pearl symbolize in The Scarlet Letter? Discuss both how her mother sees her at the time of her birth, her actions in the text, and the life she leads after the story.
  5. Reverend Dimmesdale is a character torn between conflicting desires. What are those desires, and what theme does his struggle reveal?
  6. In “The Crucible,” Arthur Miller argues that every member of society is vulnerable to accusation. How does this central theme relate to sin and honor?

 

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