Scarlet Letter Chapter 11 12 By Zach Hartzer

Scarlet Letter Chapter 11 & 12 By: Zach Hartzer and Jake Rodriguez

Ch. 11 Summary Dimmesdale is suffering from his illness and is really thinking about what has caused it. He has been delivering the strongest and most effective sermons of his life. The reverend has committed a sin but hasn’t confessed to anyone. This action is looming of his head and it begins to make him delusional. He begins to have visions of Pearl and Hester and they tell him to confess. In an attempt to cleanse his body of the sin, Dimmesdale begins to fast and holds vigils in which he doesn't sleep because he meditating.

Ch. 12 Summary The reverend goes up to the scaffold in the middle of the night thinking about confessing his sin. He lets out a loud scream and expects everyone to come out so his secret can finally be revealed. Nobody comes out. However reverend Wilson comes by the scaffold after he left the governors house who just died, but by some miracle he does not see Dimmesdale on top of it and just continues home. Then Hester and Pearl come by and they come on top of the scaffold with the reverend. They are all talking when a meteor flies by and leaves in the sky the letter “A”. It just makes the reverend want to confess his sin even more. Then Chillingworth comes up, and completely terrifies the reverend and makes him even more paranoid. After a bit of an argument, Chillingworth eventually leads the reverend home. The next day, the reverend performs his best sermon ever. However, the sexton finds his black glove on the scaffold from the night before and says it’s a sign of the devil.

Themes You cant runaway from your past. The truth will eventually come out.

Romantic and Puritan Ideas Reverend Dimmesdale would fast to an extreme. Puritans believed that fasting was a way to purify the body. He did it until his knees trembled beneath him, as an act of penance. Pg. 150

Character Analysis Dimmesdale- is a weak man and his sin is destroying him. He feels guilty for not confessing his wrong doing and it is physically harming him. Everyday he keeps his secret, the worse his health becomes. Chillingworth- is a very odd man who doesn’t fit in with the people in the town. He acts very strange around Dimmesdale and Dimmesdale starts to wonder who this man really is. He has evil working inside of him. Pearl- is different and everyone in the town knows it. She shows signs of which craft and some people think the devil is inside her.

Literary Devices Irony- Reverend Dimmesdale asks Hester who Chillingworth really is. Hester refuses to answer because she keeps her oath to her husband. Dimmesdale is very confused and flustered but we all know Chillingworth is Hester’s husband. Narrative Voice- He creates a very sad and depressing tone towards Dimmesdale. It makes Dimmesdale seem very pitiful and makes the reader feel sympathy towards him even though he has committed an awful sin.

Literary Devices Symbolism- Pearl is a huge symbol between Hester and the reverend. She was the connecting link between the two. The three formed an “electric chain” that brought peace and life back to the reverend. Symbolism- The meteor that flew above them showed the letter “A” in the sky. It just gives more reason for the reverend to confess his sin for adultery. The people think it stands for angel since the governor just died. It stands more for adultery since the reverend and Hester are standing by each other and he really wants to confess his sin.

Quiz 1. What made the letter “A” in the sky? 2. What did Hester make for Governor Winthrop when he died? 3. What article of clothing did Dimmesdale leave on the scaffold? 4. Why won’t Hester tell Dimmesdale who Chillingworth really is? 5. What do the townspeople think that the “A” in the sky stood for?

Activity Imagine you are the reverend, standing on top of the scaffold in front of the entire community getting ready to confess your sin. Prepare a short speech about what you would say to the people about what has happened and how you feel. Use pg. 148 -149 as a guideline. After, a few brave volunteers who are strong enough to stand on top of the scaffold and tell their speech to the people will receive a treat.