What story has Pearl heard about the Black Man?

• A. He haunts the forest and offers a heavy-clad book to be signed in blood
• B. He haunts the town square asking for gold
• C. He is a rumor with no basis
• D. He is a parson who preaches in the forest

Answer: (A)

Pearl has grown up hearing a devilish story about the Black Man, a figure who represents temptation and sin in Puritan folklore. In the forest, she repeats the specific tale that the Black Man haunts the woods and offers to sign a book in blood to seal a sinner’s fate. That image—the forest as a place of danger and a blood-signed book as a token of guilt—best fits what Pearl has heard about him. The other options don’t align with her familiar stories: the Black Man isn’t described as haunting the town square for gold, isn’t just a rumor, and isn’t a parson preaching in the forest.