In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Minister’s Black Veil” and Jonathan Edwards “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” each author uses different styles in which they convey their meaning to the Puritan religion to the readers. A more persuasive way to get the meaning across, correlating with Edwards, is that nothing dealing with God’s powers will restrain you from Hell. While I would characterize Hawthorne’s style as passive and desperate, Jonathan Edwards adjusts the readers understanding of the Puritan ideals of religion, by conducting fear into everyone about believing God is angry at them.
The tone in which Edwards is presenting his knowledge of the Puritan ideals is effective enough to help others believe they can go to heaven. Further explanation is presented in the following quotation “Almost every natural Man that hears of Hell, flatters himself that he shall scape it; he depends upon himself for his own Security” (paragraph 18). Edwards’s people don’t have any knowledge of God and yet they think they won’t descend to Hell. God has made no promises, he owes no man nothing so the option of restraining from Hell is up to you. While Edwards tone is more suspenseful and fearful, Hawthorne’s tone is more forceful and aggressive. As in the story notice his style in the following “At the close of the services, the people hurried out with indecorous confusion, eager to communicate their pent-up amazement, and conscious of lighter spirits the moment they lost sight of the black veil” (paragraph 11) the people didn’t catch on to his method of trying not to hold back on his secret sins. Hawthorne seems desperate to compel the people in feeling comfortable releasing their secret sins just as he does. The people were confused to see their pastor wearing this veil which made them befuddled around him. While both texts describe tone, Edwards indicates that God has no promise to regulate anyone from Hell.
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Author Jonathan Edwards also uses sensory/imagery details to further terrify his congregation into being better Christians because of foods anger and how Hell is terrible. From his text “The Bow of God’s Wrath is bent, and the Arrow made ready on the String, and Justice bends the Arrow at your Heart, and strains the Bow, and it is nothing but the mere Pleasure of God, and that of an angry God, without any promise or obligation at all, that keeps the Arrow one Moment from being made drunk with your Blood” (paragraph 27) his intended way of effecting the way his congregation thinks. People think that Gods hands keep them from descending into Hell, but it is by being good Christians. Only if they change their ways as Christian folk they wouldn’t have to fear Hell. While author Edwards usage of Sensory/Imagery details is effective, Hawthorne’s way isn’t so successful. In his text “Mr. Hooper had the reputation of a good preacher, but not an energetic one: he strove to win his people heavenward by mild, persuasive influences, rather than to drive them thither by the thunders of the Word” (paragraph 10) is to tell how the veil is causing him to lose his audience. The veil is ruining Parson’s reputation as a good preacher. He is losing his wife, friends, and respect because of the veil. While both texts indicate Sensory/Imagery details, Edwards better demonstrates that children of God aren’t promised from Hell but should be good Christians so they won’t go to Hell.
Both authors tried to put out their knowledge of the Puritan ideal in similar styles, but only one fulfilled their purpose. Jonathan Edwards uses good depiction to explain reasoning to why his congregation needs to be better Christians so they don’t go to Hell because God won’t use his powers to protect any man from Hell.
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