Comparing Scarlet Letter And Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God

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Religion and punishment played a major role in Puritan society. Nathanial Hawthorne and Jonathan Edwards have written many pieces of literature that depict Puritan views. The Scarlet Letter by Nathanial Hawthorne and “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwards are both pieces of literature that involve influential Puritan ministers, but both ministers have many opposed views. Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, from The Scarlet Letter, and Jonathan Edwards, from “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” are both favorable people, but they both have diverse views and beliefs regarding God’s relationship with people, religious beliefs, and sin. To begin, Jonathan Edwards believes God has an unforgiving relationship with his people; he believes God is furious…show more content…
During Edward’s intimidating sermon, he terrifies the congregation by implying that “hell’s wide gaping mouth” is open and “there is nothing between you and hell but the air; it is only the power and mere pleasure of God that hold you up” (Edwards 47). This proves that Edwards has strong religious beliefs and that he is not afraid to express them. Though Dimmesdale is a religious minister, he acts more concerned with the townspeople’s’ opinions rather than God’s opinion. As Dimmesdale hurries back from the forest, after deciding to leave town to avoid the guilt of his sin, he feels free and happier than ever. Hawthorne illustrates Dimmesdale reaching his dwelling, and he emphasizes how “glad [Dimmesdale was] to have reached [his] shelter, without first betraying himself to the world” (Hawthorne 210). This proves that Dimmesdale was more concerned with escaping his guilt instead of asking for God’s forgiveness. In The Scarlet Letter, the townspeople were more concerned with their peer’s opinions, and God’s opinion was not once
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    biblical lamentations. The speaker laments society and its morals while prophesying society’s downfall. Jeremiads are seen in The Scarlet Letter, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, “What, to the slave, is the Fourth of July?”, and The Great Gatsby. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlett Letter is one novel demonstrating a jeremiad. The Puritans believed people were born sinners and maintained strict watch over themselves and townspeople. Hester committed adultery, but was spared execution because the

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