John Mendez Mrs. Ragle AP English 3 January 2003 The Scarlet Letter In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, the author uses three scaffold scenes to identify the development of Hester Prynne. The story takes place in the 1600s in a small Puritan village in Boston. Hester on the scaffold is a symbol of her forced isolation; for her rejection from society; and for the uselessness of her punishment. In the first scene, Hawthorne uses the scaffold to …
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…scaffold scenes to identify the development of Hester Prynne. The embarrassment on the scaffold is supposed to punish Hester and make her forgive her sins but it does not. Hester is too proud and too strong to be hurt by the insult of others. Also, the scarlet letter has not changed Hester's love towards Dimmesdale or her desire to be with him. The scarlet letter, like the scaffold just portrayed the uselessness of the punishment.