Crucible 4

Jonathan Edwards Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God can be related to Arthur Miller's The Crucible, but they also have their differences.

These two pieces of literature are different for a couple of reasons.  Jonathan Edwards sermon was written in the 1700's in the Puritan era of the colonies.  It depicts Puritan writing qualities.   Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God is an example of a Puritan fire and brimstone sermon.  These sermons were meant to scare and motivate people into going to church.  However, Arthur Miller's The Crucible is a play written hundreds of years later and only imitates Puritan values.  The Crucible is an historical fiction about a real event in Salem, Massachusetts.  The major difference between the two is that Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God is a example of Puritan beliefs at that time in history.  The Crucible questions the absurdity of those beliefs from the point of view of the a more modern day audience.  To us, these Puritan beliefs seem extremist and ridiculous.  Today we believe in acceptance and tolerance, but back then it was more "their way or the highway."  Another contradiction is that Edwards speaks more of the wrath of God whereas Miller speaks more of the wrath of men punishing men.

These two works are also comparable.  Jonathan Edwards gave a fire and brimstone speech much like Reverend Parris does in The Crucible (Miller 28-29).  Reverend Parris is not liked by people in the village of Salem because of his sermons (Miller 29-30).  These speeches were about as effective as a repellent as they were drawing people to church because some people were scared and others were just annoyed.  Jonathan Edwards talks a lot about how to condemn yourself to the fires of hell, but he does not talk about how to un-condemn yourself and avoid the wrath of God.  The people of Salem in The Crucible feel this way as well.  In Salem, it is very easy for someone

to be condemned as a witch, but it is impossible to be un-condemned. John Proctor is accused of wizardry and finds himself in jail trying to prove that he is not a wizard, but no one will believe him (Miller Act IV); he is eventually hanged (Miller 145). These works also share a likeness in how they describe confrontation with the devil. Both speak of being possessed, flying under satanic powers, and signing the devil's black book. (Edwards) (Miller 19, 121-123).


Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. New York, New York: Penguin Plays, 1982. Print.

Edwards, Jonathan. Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Pub., 1992. Print.