While atop the scaffold with the townspeople eyeing the scarlet letter “A” upon her breast, Hester Prynne feels dejected. Revealed in Hawthorne’s use of figurative language, “As if her heart had been flung into the street for them all to spurn and trample upon” (Hawthorne 62). Clearly, Prynne’s heart stayed within her chest, yet the hyperbole supports the claim that the community severely judges and wounds her emotionally. Through a sense of empathy, the reader shares a general disgust of the Puritan society with Hawthorne after the scene. The Puritan’s aggressively antagonistic tone towards Prynne allows Hawthorne to persuade the reader to agree with his unstated argument; Puritan society represents the antagonist of the novel. Ergo, the antagonistic tone the Puritan community shows toward Prynne allows Hawthorne to persuade the reader to agree with his feelings toward Prynne and the Puritan
While atop the scaffold with the townspeople eyeing the scarlet letter “A” upon her breast, Hester Prynne feels dejected. Revealed in Hawthorne’s use of figurative language, “As if her heart had been flung into the street for them all to spurn and trample upon” (Hawthorne 62). Clearly, Prynne’s heart stayed within her chest, yet the hyperbole supports the claim that the community severely judges and wounds her emotionally. Through a sense of empathy, the reader shares a general disgust of the Puritan society with Hawthorne after the scene. The Puritan’s aggressively antagonistic tone towards Prynne allows Hawthorne to persuade the reader to agree with his unstated argument; Puritan society represents the antagonist of the novel. Ergo, the antagonistic tone the Puritan community shows toward Prynne allows Hawthorne to persuade the reader to agree with his feelings toward Prynne and the Puritan