Why does John Wilson question Pearl?

Why does John Wilson question Pearl?

• A. To see if she has been nurtured in a Christian way.
• B. To determine Pearl's intelligence.
• C. To investigate Hester's sincerity.
• D. To determine Pearl's age.

Answer: (A)

In this moment Hawthorne uses Pearl as a measure of a child’s religious upbringing within a strict Puritan community. John Wilson asks Pearl because, for these thinkers, a child’s faith and how she’s taught to pray, behave, and recognize sin are the clearest evidence of a mother’s penitence and of whether salvation is possible for the child. If Pearl demonstrates Christian awareness and piety in her responses, it suggests Hester has raised her within the faith and the community’s moral order can endure. The aim isn’t to gauge Pearl’s intelligence or age, nor to pry directly into Hester’s sincerity; it’s to see whether Pearl has been nurtured in a Christian way and what that says about Hester’s standing before God and the colony.

In this moment Hawthorne uses Pearl as a measure of a child’s religious upbringing within a strict Puritan community. John Wilson asks Pearl because, for these thinkers, a child’s faith and how she’s taught to pray, behave, and recognize sin are the clearest evidence of a mother’s penitence and of whether salvation is possible for the child. If Pearl demonstrates Christian awareness and piety in her responses, it suggests Hester has raised her within the faith and the community’s moral order can endure. The aim isn’t to gauge Pearl’s intelligence or age, nor to pry directly into Hester’s sincerity; it’s to see whether Pearl has been nurtured in a Christian way and what that says about Hester’s standing before God and the colony.