Hellfire. Angry God. Confession. Sin. Damnation. The
Crucible and Jonathan Edwards “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” don’t
touch these subjects lightly. In fact, Edwards’ whole sermon is about the wrath
of God and the fire of Hell that awaits those who turn from him. The
Crucible, on the other hand, is a story of Puritans who, rather than point
out things that make God angry, go out and find those people and use their common
sins or imaginary ones to condemn them to be hanged. While comparing them, I found a character with the same beliefs as
Edwards, people who demonstrated Edwards words on ‘hypocrisy’, and the tone of
them both.
The very first thing I noticed about The Crucible was the similarities between Jonathan Edwards, and Mr. Parris, the preacher from the book. John Proctor says this about Mr. Parris: “I have trouble enough without I come five miles to hear him preach only hellfire and bloody damnation. Take it to heart Mr. Parris. There are many others who stay away from church these days because you hardly ever mention God anymore” (Miller 28-29). As you saw, Proctor describes Parris preaching ‘hellfire’ and ‘damnation’, which is exactly what Edwards preaches in his sermon. Parris says, “I do not preach for children,” and “It is not the children who are unmindful of their obligations toward this ministry” (Miller 29) Edwards also mentions people of the church being hypocrites and not true Christians (Edwards 99). Parris also states that he thinks ‘the better half of Salem village’ are unmindful, and says “There is either obedience or the church will burn like Hell is burning!” (Miller 30). Clearly Mr. Parris and Edwards see eye to eye. Edwards says basically the same thing in his sermon, saying that “instead of one, how many is it likely will remember this discourse in Hell!” (Edwards 99). He also claims that God is the one holding us out of Hells fiery pit (Edwards 96). Mr. Parris and Edwards are extremely similar, and both are preachers of fire and brimstone and misery. They have the same belief system, and call out the sinners of the church, warning them of their fate. Unfortunately, most people, like Proctor, don’t enjoy what they have to say.
One of the people Edwards talks about in his sermon are hypocrites. People who he claims sit in the church every Sunday and could “be the subjects of this very misery to all eternity”, or the misery of Hell (Edwards 99) So he’s claiming that many of the people in his congregation think they’re fine, but they’re really going to go to Hell in the end. SPEAKING of hypocrites, I saw many of them in The Crucible. The hypocrites I saw were the very people accusing everyone else. People in the church are NOT supposed to go around condemning everyone and killing them for their sins. The church people of The Crucible claim they are doing God’s work, but really, they aren’t at all, which reveals them as hypocrites. For example, Hale is one, as is Danforth. They both search and try people for witchcraft, and put many in jail to be hung. Edwards plays a role similar to theirs. He preaches God’s love, but then points out everyone’s wrongs and tells them they will go to Hell.
The third thing I noticed that is similar between Edwards sermon and The Crucible is the tone of both of them. They are both gloomy, macabre and disturbing. Edwards sermon says things like “great furnace of wrath” and “a wide bottomless pit full of the fire of wrath” (Edwards 98). He goes into great detail and describes the fiery furnace of Hell that people are destined to go to. The Crucible on the other hand is just as disturbing. It describes Christian people killing other Christians for crimes they didn’t commit, and the horror of lies and rumors that only lead to death. Both leave the feeling of death in your mind and are sorrowful and terrifying. They leave your heart thundering in your chest and your mind reeling long after you stop reading them. The tone is intended to be this way in both stories, and was very similar.
In conclusion, there were several similarities between Edwards’ horrific sermon on Hell’s fire and Miller’s macabre book of a town that tears itself apart. Edwards’ beliefs and his characteristics are similar to the character Mr. Parris is Miller’s book. Edwards’ sermon talks of hypocrisy, as does Miller’s characters, and the tone of both works is exactly the same: foreboding and gloomy. Both the Crucible and “Sinner in the Hands of an Angry God” are similar in their subject matter.
The very first thing I noticed about The Crucible was the similarities between Jonathan Edwards, and Mr. Parris, the preacher from the book. John Proctor says this about Mr. Parris: “I have trouble enough without I come five miles to hear him preach only hellfire and bloody damnation. Take it to heart Mr. Parris. There are many others who stay away from church these days because you hardly ever mention God anymore” (Miller 28-29). As you saw, Proctor describes Parris preaching ‘hellfire’ and ‘damnation’, which is exactly what Edwards preaches in his sermon. Parris says, “I do not preach for children,” and “It is not the children who are unmindful of their obligations toward this ministry” (Miller 29) Edwards also mentions people of the church being hypocrites and not true Christians (Edwards 99). Parris also states that he thinks ‘the better half of Salem village’ are unmindful, and says “There is either obedience or the church will burn like Hell is burning!” (Miller 30). Clearly Mr. Parris and Edwards see eye to eye. Edwards says basically the same thing in his sermon, saying that “instead of one, how many is it likely will remember this discourse in Hell!” (Edwards 99). He also claims that God is the one holding us out of Hells fiery pit (Edwards 96). Mr. Parris and Edwards are extremely similar, and both are preachers of fire and brimstone and misery. They have the same belief system, and call out the sinners of the church, warning them of their fate. Unfortunately, most people, like Proctor, don’t enjoy what they have to say.
One of the people Edwards talks about in his sermon are hypocrites. People who he claims sit in the church every Sunday and could “be the subjects of this very misery to all eternity”, or the misery of Hell (Edwards 99) So he’s claiming that many of the people in his congregation think they’re fine, but they’re really going to go to Hell in the end. SPEAKING of hypocrites, I saw many of them in The Crucible. The hypocrites I saw were the very people accusing everyone else. People in the church are NOT supposed to go around condemning everyone and killing them for their sins. The church people of The Crucible claim they are doing God’s work, but really, they aren’t at all, which reveals them as hypocrites. For example, Hale is one, as is Danforth. They both search and try people for witchcraft, and put many in jail to be hung. Edwards plays a role similar to theirs. He preaches God’s love, but then points out everyone’s wrongs and tells them they will go to Hell.
The third thing I noticed that is similar between Edwards sermon and The Crucible is the tone of both of them. They are both gloomy, macabre and disturbing. Edwards sermon says things like “great furnace of wrath” and “a wide bottomless pit full of the fire of wrath” (Edwards 98). He goes into great detail and describes the fiery furnace of Hell that people are destined to go to. The Crucible on the other hand is just as disturbing. It describes Christian people killing other Christians for crimes they didn’t commit, and the horror of lies and rumors that only lead to death. Both leave the feeling of death in your mind and are sorrowful and terrifying. They leave your heart thundering in your chest and your mind reeling long after you stop reading them. The tone is intended to be this way in both stories, and was very similar.
In conclusion, there were several similarities between Edwards’ horrific sermon on Hell’s fire and Miller’s macabre book of a town that tears itself apart. Edwards’ beliefs and his characteristics are similar to the character Mr. Parris is Miller’s book. Edwards’ sermon talks of hypocrisy, as does Miller’s characters, and the tone of both works is exactly the same: foreboding and gloomy. Both the Crucible and “Sinner in the Hands of an Angry God” are similar in their subject matter.
Miller,
Arthur. The Crucible. New York, NY: Penguin, 1996. Print.
Edwards, Jonathan. "Sinners
in the Hands of an Angry God." Glencoe American Literature. N.p.: McGraw-Hill,
n.d. 82-85. Print.
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