Compare And Contrast Hawthorne And Jonathan Edwards

Jonathan Edwards, the author of “Sinners in the hands of an angry God” cunningly made his style more effective than Nathaniel Hawthorne's style in “The Ministers of the Black Veil.” Edwards used more of an aggressive style which worked better than Hawthorne’s sad and laid back style.

Edwards and Hawthorne both wrote about religious topics, more precisely, Christian topics. In addition, their themes are not far off from each other either. Edward’s theme is that God can strike you down for your sin, However he loves and forgives you. Hawthorne's theme is that everyone has secret sins. Both themes tie into christianity, and furthermore have to do with sin.

In contrast, Edwards theme has to do with God's ability to strike you down, yet had such

a forgiving nature that he hasn't yet. Hawthorne’s theme was only about sin. Edwards theme doesn't stress as much on sin as Hawthorne’s does.
Edwards develops his theme by the aggressive approach from his style, as a result the aggressive style makes for a guilty mood.

For example, “It is nothing but his mere pleasure that keeps you from being this moment swallowed up in everlasting destruction” (Edwards,79-81). The way Edwards developed his theme is very persuasive and effective.

Hawthorne’s theme is developed by the saddening, laid back style he uses. The saddening mood that Hawthorne creates helps to develop the theme, which is people will judge you if you change your appearance.Also Hawthorne was very descriptive, such as in this line “swathed about his forehead, and hanging down over his face, so low as to be shaken by his breath, Mr.Hooper had on a Black veil”(Hawthorne,29-30). The precise description causes a decent image in your head to form.

Edwards style was more effective because his aggressive approach was perfect for the text, his aggression could be felt and made for a guilty mood. As a result, the guilty mood caused for the persuasion to work even more. The way Edwards worded his sentences was so demanding, for instance, “However unconvinced you may be of the truth of what you hear,by and by you will be fully convinced of it.”(81-82). With is part of the text he basically stated that it didn't matter if you believed hi9s sermon or not because one day you'll see he was right,consequently that makes for even more persuasion causing Edwards style to be highly

effective.
In contrast, some may argue that Hawthorne's style was more effective. Will Hawthorne's descriptive tactics such as, “swathed about his forehead, and hanging down over his face, so low as to be shaken by his breath, Mr.Hooper had on a Black veil”(Hawthorne,29-30). Hawthorne's laid back and saddening mood made for a relaxed feeling, making the reader more comfortable, in return, making the text more effective.
Edwards intelligently worded his text to make the reader feel the aggression, the guilt, and the need to repent. His tactics are highly effective and much more advanced than simple imagery such as what Hawthorne produced in his text. To conclude, Edwards was far more effective than Hawthorne.