In “The Scarlet Letter,” the Puritan’s cruelty towards Hester Prynne functions as a mean to develop Hawthorne’s idea of how people naturally react negatively towards others and in this case, those who have made mistakes. Hester’s mistake unfolds the plot and reveals truths about how Puritans, who were people that were persecuted due to their religion, punished her for breaking one of their rules given by God, which was to not commit adultery. This mistake also sparks the interest of another person, Chillingworth, who seeks revenge against Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale, who is a protagonist alongside Prynne. In the beginning of the book, Hester Prynne is made to stand in front of the townspeople to receive her punishment. She
