How do the townspeople
react to Dimmesdale after
he mounts the scaffold?

they used personification to make the truck seem mean and violent.

hope this !

from the political point of view it could be said that the candidate   is an effective speaker because she takes a strong position on the issue. it is an open discussion but probably she is making a presentation and can choose which subjects she wants to address. she is very likely to attain her aim which is to convince voters to accept her proposal.