Final answer:
The townspeople have multiple options when faced with the hangman's arrival, such as resistance, fleeing, acceptance, or negotiation. The poem and the excerpts suggest that a unified resistance could have been an effective way to stop the hangman, but societal norms and individual fears often hinder such collective action.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the context of the poem and the provided excerpts, when the hangman arrives, the townspeople have several options. They can resist the hangman, flee the town, accept the hangman's actions or attempt to negotiate with the hangman. However, the choices left by the people when the hangman has finished his work in the town become significantly limited due to societal norms, loss of unity, and diminished power.
Indeed, there was a way to stop the hangman, and that would have been through unity and resistance against the actions of the hangman. If people had chosen to collectively oppose the hangman's actions from the beginning, they might have overpowered him or at least altered the course of events. However, the portrayal suggests societal norms and the fear of individual consequences often prevent such collective action. Albert Camus elucidates this concept of choice and resistance; individuals always have the option to resist or to acquiesce, and by choosing not to resist, they are, in effect, participating in their own subjugation.