Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God Essay

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The claim that Jonathan Edwards’ style in ‘Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” is more effective is reasonable because of the fearful manner in which he addresses his audience. The themes in both this passage as well as ‘The Minister’s Black Veil”, a passage by Nathaniel Hawthorne, focus on the idea that our sins are inevitable and cannot be hidden or go unnoticed. In “The Minister’s Black Veil”, the protagonist, Mr. Hooper, speaks to the congregation of his church in a mild and calm tone. In “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, Edwards approaches his audience with intensity and aggression.
In both texts, the authors themes discuss the repercussions of sinning. “The Devil is waiting for them, hell is gaping for them, and would fain lay hold on them, and swallow them up; the fire pent up in their own hearts is struggling to break out…”(8-11) This statement from “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” conveys what Edwards claims is waiting for those who sin. Similarly, both passages use an abundance of symbolism. As stated in “The Minister’s Black Veil”, “But that piece of crape, to their imagination, seemed to hang down before his heart, the symbol of a fearful secret between him and them. (244-246) This quote implies that the …show more content…
The language, specifically, is conflicting. In ‘The Minister’s Black Veil”, the protagonist, Mr. Hooper, approaches his audience with a hushed, almost bland delivery. Conversely, Edwards uses fiery and energetic diction in “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”. “O Sinner! Consider the fearful danger you are in: It is a great furnace of wrath, a wide and bottomless pit, full of the fire of wrath, that you are held over in the hand of that God, whose wrath is provoked and incensed as much against you, as against many of the damned in hell.” (109-113) This statement expresses the severity in which Edwards went about his passage to further convey his
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