Question

Read this excerpt from chapter 1 of The Scarlet Letter using comprehension strategies.

But, on one side of the portal, and rooted almost at the threshold, was a wild rose-bush, covered, in this month of June, with its delicate gems, which might be imagined to offer their fragrance and fragile beauty to the prisoner as he went in, and to the condemned criminal as he came forth to his doom, in token that the deep heart of Nature could pity and be kind to him.

What is the meaning of this excerpt?
Puritans plant a rosebush near the prison to comfort criminals.
The rosebush is more beautiful and fragile than anything else near the prison.
The rosebush is nature’s offering to those who must enter or leave the prison.
Puritans believe that criminals deserve a view of beauty from their cells.

Answer 1

Correct answer: The rosebush is nature’s offering to those who must enter or leave the prison (option 3).

How I got that (comprehension strategies used):
- Literal reading: The narrator says the rose-bush “might be imagined to offer their fragrance and fragile beauty… in token that the deep heart of Nature could pity and be kind to him.” That directly frames the bush as a gift or comfort from Nature.
- Inference: “in token” and “could pity and be kind” imply the bush represents nature’s sympathy for prisoners, not an action by people.
- Elimination of other choices:
- Option 1 (Puritans planted it) is not stated — the text doesn’t say who planted the bush.
- Option 2 (it’s more beautiful/fragile than anything else nearby) isn’t asserted or compared in the passage.
- Option 4 (Puritans believe criminals deserve a view of beauty) attributes a belief to the Puritans that the text does not claim.

So option 3 best matches the passage’s meaning.