Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God Rhetorical Analysis

“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” is a sermon written by Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758), a theologian and philosopher in the British Colonies of America. He was raised as a puritan in Connecticut and grew up to be one of America’s most influential protestant revivalists of that time. He delivered many sermons, the most well-known being “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” Edwards gave this sermon on July 8, 1741 in Northampton, Massachusetts. The main purpose of this sermon was to convey to the audience the reality of hell, the need to change their wicked lives, and, ultimately, that they should fear the wrath of God. Edwards does this to motivate the audience to live their lives as perfectly as they can in order to not anger God and to avoid Hell.

Throughout his literary endeavors, Nathaniel Hawthorne utilizes symbolism to present a certain theme that pertains to human nature and life. In his works, The Scarlet Letter and "The Minister's Black Veil", Hawthorne uses symbolism to present a common theme pertaining to religion; that though manifested sin will ostracize a person from society, un-confessed sin will destroy the soul.

When one has to grope for, and fumble for, the meaning of a tale, then there is “failure” in the work, as Henry James says. This unfortunately is the case of “The Minister’s Black Veil.” It is so ambiguous in so many occasions in the tale that a blur rather than a distinct image forms in the mind of the reader. The Norton Anthology: American Literature states in “Nathaniel Hawthorne”:

In “ The Minister's Black Veil”, Hawthorne uses plain descriptions that don't confuse readers, which helped explain his meaning of his story shown. “The Minister’s Black Veil” had a strong meaning showing that everyone has a sin that they don't want anyone to know about it. This meant everyone was a sinner and nobody was really a good man. Hawthorne was trying to tell the people that God could see the sins of everyone as he says here “loathsomely treasuring up the secret of his sin; then deem me a monster, for the symbol beneath which I have lived, and die! I look around me, and, lo! on every visage a Black Veil!"” (4) , so he wanted Christians to be more orthodox and become more pure to prevent these secret sins.

“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” and “The Minister’s Black Veil” both use symbolism to contribute to the impact of Puritanical values on their congregations; however, Edwards utilizes symbolism more effectively. He uses symbolism to create fear when he says, “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…” (paragraph 8). He uses the bow to symbolize God’s anger with the people of Edwards’s congregation by being straightforward with them, while Hawthorne’s use of symbolism is more difficult to comprehend. In contrast, Hawthorne uses symbolism to give the black veil a greater purpose than it actually has when he explains, “It shook with his measured breath, as he gave out the psalm; it threw its obscurity between him

In The Minister’s Black Veil by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author seeks to convey that although all individuals are sinners, members of society will condemn those who seek to confront their own faults. This conclusion was drawn from the many motifs which relate to Puritan society, particularly the superstitions and Christian ideologies of many New Englanders during the 18th century. In this tale, Mr. Hooper’s donning of the black veil is viewed as a change which alters his countenance indefinitely; from the moment it is introduced, those who view it are awestruck. The mere sight of Mr. Hooper even acts as a “signal for the bell to cease its summons”. As murmurs spread throughout the congregation, Mr. Hooper preaches of “secret sin, and those

Symbolism plays a major role in the “Minister’s Black Veil” by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It influences the setting of the story and it complements the moral message. The minister, Mr. Hooper, has a lot of faith and is very committed to helping the society to be more faithful and closer to God. He lives a very harsh live being rejected by society and goes through unpleasant moments to achieve his original goal. When he decides to wear the black veil, he was not trying to be mysterious and create a gloomy environment like he did; he had much more than that in mind. The Black Veil represents the thought of the puritans that sin was an inexcusable mistake, the secret sin and dark side in each individual, and he uses

In regards to the topic of sin, Hawthorne pushes his thoughts with archetypes. It is easy to see that Reverend Hooper’s veil is black as it even says so in the title. “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 300). Hawthorne could have used any color to represent the piece of fabric that lays across the front of his face and he chose black simply because of its archetypical meaning. No other color would make sense, as if it were perhaps the color

Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Minister's Black Veil" illustrates the dangers of secret sin. Allowing guilt from things done in the past, things that cannot be changed, can ruin lives. The life of the secret-carrier will be devastated, along with the lives of that person's most loved ones. Hawthorne uses various types of figurative language in his works to portray his message. "The Minister's Black Veil” is no exception; Hawthorne uses symbolism and suggestion to add depth and mystery.

Nathaniel Hawthorne is a prominent writer who uses many different elements in his works. He uses elements such as symbolism, figurative language, metaphor, irony and etc. to make his work prominent. In the works by Nathaniel Hawthorne, he uses symbols for secret sin in The Scarlet Letter, “The Minister’s Black Veil,” and “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment.”

The Minister’s Black Veil is set in a Puritan village in New England back 1600s. Through this story, readers are able to get an insight into the author’s strong awareness of his Puritan history. The Puritans led a strict life in which religious devotion and hard work were very much emphasized. In the story, Hawthorne utilizes the black veil to symbolize the sinful nature of humankind. By making use of the Puritan setting, Hawthorne is able to show how even the most religious members of the society also engage in sinful activities. He brings to light several themes including secret sin, people’s reaction to change and isolation.

Secondly, both Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne share a very similar tone through their writings that affects the perception of evil in their stories. For example, “And now at the dead hour of the night, amid the dreadful silence of that old house, so strange a noise as this excited me to uncontrollable terror”(Poe, 11) represents a nervous, yet saddening tone presented by Allan Poe taking in consideration the repetition of a statement made by the main character in “The Tell-Tale Heart”. As well as Allan Poe, Hawthorne presents a mysterious gloomy tone where the minister’s veil makes the readers question themselves about the main purpose for using the piece of crape. An example of this gloomy and overwhelming mystery tone would be, “When Mr. Hooper came, the first thing that their eyes rested on was the same horrible black veil, which had added deeper gloom to the funeral, and could portend nothing but evil to the wedding” (Hawthorne, 11) letting the readers know that all of the villagers gathered at the funeral disliked the veil, for it only brought more mystery and sadness.

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Minister’s Black Veil” shows the results of a good man showing his sins using a black veil in order to reveal that all men have secret sins. This is a time where people focused on the supernatural and spiritual. Nathaniel Hawthorne is considered an American Romantic writer because he wrote about people being able to make individual choices and also he wrote about the supernatural and the afterlife. Hawthorne followed the usual Romantic ideas where he focused on the secrets of the human heart and soul and his fascination with death and the supernatural. Hawthorne is different than most Romantic writers because he undermines the usual belief in which Romantics considered man innately good. Hawthorne’s characters show

Hawthorne is a great example of a writer who helped shape the minds of readers through his fiction. As a writer he often kept to himself and “[…] for many, remains tantalizingly elusive” and “[…] a deeply private man” (Baym and Levine 603). However, his decision to keep his innermost thoughts to himself only further benefitted the American minds. “Withholding interpretation—or offering multiple and conflicting interpretations only makes readers do their own interpretive work but also shows how interpretation is often a form of self-expression” (Baym and Levine 603). “The Minister’s Black Veil” is one of Hawthorne’s works that leave the reader to evaluate themselves and how they perceive the meaning of the story and the symbolism of the veil.

In his various works, Nathaniel Hawthorne addresses the religious themes dominant in colonial Puritan society. Mr. Hooper’s black veil is a prime example on how the Puritans believed it could bring nothing but evil. Like many of his works, Hawthorne brings upon a symbol in which tends to symbolize the wrongdoings of such characters. This is not the first in which Hawthorne uses a strong symbol in his works. For example in “The Scarlet Letter”, Hester Prynne is forced to wear the scarlet letter “A” which symbolizes that she is an adulterer. The black veil can be interpreted in many ways, it’s all a matter of perception.