The Crucible - 4 : Comparisons

Ther are actually a few things that are very similar between Jonathan Edwards' "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" and The Crucible. I noticed that a few of the characters in the play remind me of Jonathan Edwards, and the message those characters seem to be expressing is very similar to Jonathan Edwards'.

Mr. Parris especially makes me think about Jonathan Edwards. In the first act, Mr. Procter talks about how Mr. Parris is always preaching about fire and brimstone and how the unfaithful will go to hell (Miller 28-29). Jonathan Edwards' entire sermon was to that effect, so it was easy to make that connection. (Edwards 97-99). I have trouble putting up with people like this who always talk about the bad side of things. I know that it is important to consider the consequences of the things you do, but for God's sake do you really need someone nagging at you all of the time like your step mother? It is no wonder that there is a faction in the play that does not like Mr. Parris. I would not like a person like that either.

I can also see similarities in the things they talk about and their priorities. It seems like a big priority to both of them is avoiding God's wrath. They do not really talk about the things a person can do to please the Lord, they just want to be not sent directly to hell. I think that most of the reason for there violent phrases is that they want to keep their power and keep the support of the people who pay them. I can see that the message of getting people all worried about their eternal souls would be a bit more profitable than letting the parishioners stop attending church. In the play it is really obvious that Mr. Parris is trying to further the conviction of witches because it makes people afraid of the devil and sends them back to church. I am not truly certain if this was what motivated Jonathan Edwards or not, but I would not be surprised it ifit was.

In the end, I can see a lot in common between Jonathan Edwards and Mr. Parris. The parts I had to read concerning both people annoyed me a lot. I guess I just do not like people who preach in general. I do not like to be told how to think and feel about certain things. I want to process the things I am told and think about them myself. I also wonder what motives those preachy people have. Why does it matter to them how I feel about things? I really do not think that it should. It just makes me feel very bad in general. The Crucible and Jonathan Edwards' sermon had a lot in common through the way the characters behaved, so it was easy to make connections between the two.

Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. New York, NY: Penguin, 1996. Print.

Edwards, Jonathan. "From Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 97-99. Print.