As we are approaching the close of the novel, Olivia today began articulating the main theme of the novel. We likened Dimmesdale"s hypocrisy and false persona to a person who is in a witness protection program forced to wear a false identity and thereby to abandon his sense of purpose and of his true self. It must take considerable effort and likely takes its physical and emotional toll in the same way as does Dimmesdale's masquerade . Olivia noted the imagery in the titles of the chapters and Hawthorne's use of light imagery in the forest scene. Last, we discussed how Hester's isolation and pain have created both insight into the human condition and a false sense of possibilities. During the last segment of the class, we reviewed Olivia's test paper and my comments on her test essay . We addressed grammatical issues and the importance of directly addressing the posed inquiry. For homework, study for tomorrow's test which includes vocabulary and quotes from the novel .