Preview

An Analysis of Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
580 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
An Analysis of Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
Joseph Hague
Miss Gilmore
English III
31 October 2013
¨Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God¨ An oratory in literature is a form of public speaking that is formal. ¨Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God¨ was written by Jonathan Edwards to persuade and scare Puritans that weren't connected with God very much. Edwards wrote this piece of literature by himself as a six hour sermon and terrified the audience by the very vague and colorful language he used in it. Due to the persuasiveness, the emotionally appealing text that addressed the needs and concerns of the audience, and the use of colorful and rhythmic language ¨Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God¨ is classified as an oratory. The persuasiveness in this particular oratory was a major part of why it was so popular. An example of persuasiveness in this oratory would be when Jonathan Edwards is telling the audience, ¨This is the case of every one of you that are out of Christ...¨ This quote is persuasive because the audience should be able to tell that something bad will happen to them if they do not change their ways. The audience should begin to want to change their ways in the near future. Jonathan made this oratory very persuasive because he wanted his fellow Puritans to change their ways. He wanted them to be saved and go to Heaven.
An oratory should also have emotionally appealing text that addresses the needs and concerns of the audience. Edwards also made it this way so that the audience would be interested in it. An example of emotionally appealing text that addressed the needs and concerns of the audience is ¨God stands ready to pity you; this is the day of mercy...¨ This quote addresses the needs of the audience because they wanted pity from God. Edwards wanted this oratory to address the needs and concerns of the audience so that they might change their ways. An example of just emotionally appealing text is ¨The bow of God´s wrath is bent, and the arrow made ready on the string, and justice

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    A writer must employ a variety of rhetorical devices in order to convey the emotions of a character. If these techniques are used well, the character becomes more real to the reader. In his play Henry VIII, William Shakespeare does a remarkable job of conveying the emotions of his…

    • 1990 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    "We must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight!" Emotional and logical appeal plays a great part in the "Sinners in the hands of an angry God" and the "Speech in the Virginia convention". The emotions in both of these speeches bring them to life by the use of repetition, rhetorical questions, and imagery. Patrick Henry and Jonathan Edwards both apply similar persuasive techniques, but they differ in the type of appeal to their audiences.…

    • 771 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lincoln’s speech at Gettysburg not only memorialized the deaths of the fallen, but also, through the use of the rhetorical strategies of repetition, pathos, and syntax, served as a away to get the people to continue the war. His syntax was most effective in the way that his speech was only composed of two hundred and seventy-words and still serves as one of the greatest speeches ever made. Lincoln’s repetition was used very carefully concentrating on the words being repeated and finally his use of pathos. Lincoln used pathos in away that affected the audience’s emotional views about the battle and the emotional connection between him and the audience. Lincoln’s speech was successful because of these rhetoric devices.…

    • 1003 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Jonathan Edwards began his sermon towards the Puritan congregation by trying to scare the people. Edwards used loud words and an aggravated disposition in order to attempt to convert people to a new life. Jonathan Edwards’s purpose for writing the message was to change people’s beliefs and realize that the actions humans are taking part in are destroying a Holy God’s heart. By scaring the audience it makes people realize that all the bad stuff they have done in the past has destroyed their lives, and God’s. When you scare an audience during a message or sermon it shows the amount of trouble or the amount of help they need. Edwards performs very well in that style because not only did it scare people it brought a wonderful message as well.…

    • 502 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Jonathan Edwards shows great anger in this sermon through the use of metaphors, personification, and diction.…

    • 255 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mohrmann and Michael C. Leff’s. G.P. Mohrmann and Michael C. Leff evaluate the Neo-Aristotelian style by stating, “The importance of this principle can scarcely be exaggerated; without it, modern speech criticism would not have been possible.”(464) They go on to explain that without this style speechmaking wouldn’t be as exceptional today and would be much like ancient rhetoric. They say, “The problem in the traditional system appears to be an omission rather than an inherent defect the genre and remain consistent with Aristotelian principles. Finding Rosenthal’s analysis of ethos suggestive, we approached the campaign oration as an instance of “personal persuasion.”(464) Where the crowd and audience act more or less like a judge of future events similar to that of an election. The speaker must be prepared to embrace the crowd while giving their speech. G.P. Mohrmann and Michael C. Leff compare a variety of speech analyzation styles throughout their article however coming to an ultimate conclusion of the ability to critique comes strictly from the critic…

    • 676 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Through his fire and brimstone teachings Edwards evokes an immense amount of fear in his listeners. To further impart the feeling upon his audience Edwards uses the rhetorical device pathos. Pathos “appeals to the audience’s emotions “(NMSI 13). This helps Edwards to reinforce his purpose and persuade his audience. Edwards informs his audience that “[unconverted men] are now the objects of that very same anger and wrath of God, that is expressed in the torments of hell” (Edwards 40). By telling his listeners that there is just as much anger directed at them as there is expressed in hell Edwards fuels their fear and shows them the horror they face by not converting which in turn persuades them even further to be “born again”. Though, this is…

    • 240 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The paralyzing powers of speech often engulfs the human mind and corrupts it to the will of the speaker. Omnipresent in society, rhetorical appeals, the appealing powers of speech, are made to project the speaker’s thoughts and ideas of a subject matter. From ordinary conversations to commercial advertisements to public addresses, appeals are present to influence an audience’s mindset. The appeal of Logos creates compelling evidence for the audience to develop conclusions in the speaker’s favor while the appeal of Pathos relies on morals, values, and emotions to create a response from the audience. Combined with the appeal of Ethos to establish credibility in the speaker, the appeals are potentially powerful enough to cause everlasting impacts on society and revise history itself. Throughout history, great orators such as Hitler, Martin Luther King, and other political leaders have used the power of speech to transform people’s thoughts and ideas. This practice has dated back to ancient times to Mark Antony at the funeral of his friend and mentor, Julius Caesar. In William Shakespeare’s Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Mark Antony establishes himself to his audience, the plebeians, with Ethos then uses Pathos to pull on the audience’s heartstrings and sway the plebeians’ beliefs with Logos in an attempt to make the audience doubt Brutus’s justification of killing Caesar because he was ambitious.…

    • 1022 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Great speeches resonate with an audience because of the powerful and enduring ideas that are expressed in a well crafted oration.…

    • 1247 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    How does the diction of a literary work help to convey the writer 's message? Is there a specific way it helps the author persuade you? Martin Luther King Jr. 's "Letter from Birmingham Jail" displays many forms of rhetorical strategies, language, and diction in order to help convey his message of "unjust" or "just" laws. The diction in this literary work is very important in aiding King to help convey his message. By appealing to pathos a lot, he creates a feeling of hope and despair for the reader to choose which is more prominent in the lives of African Americans. King wrote the "Letter" in response to the eight clergymen from Alabama who called his actions "untimely and unwise". When he explains the reasons for him being in jail, King uses the argument that this injustice that was in Birmingham was everywhere and that people needed to do something about it. King 's diction, historical and biblical allusions, and rhetorical questions compose his eloquent diction in "Letter" that helps him show the importance non-violently fighting for rights.…

    • 924 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Everywhere you look in the world today, there is always someone trying to persuade you to do something. While watching the television every commercial is sixty seconds of pure persuasion. You can read them in the newspaper. Even while driving on the interstate there are huge billboards that grab your attention to whatever they are advertising. People literally knock on your door trying to persuade you to switch to their religion. The goal of the persuasion is mutual, but the persuasions techniques may differ. The techniques that one uses can depend on many things. For example, the technique a speaker chooses, might depend on your audience or the occasion. In Jonathan Edwards “Sinners in the hands of an Angry God”, Edwards uses three main persuasive techniques which are, connections to reality, his vivid description, and fear of the unknown.…

    • 817 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The point of any speech is to connect with an audience (and persuade them) on a far deeper level than any written form can provide. That connection may be through empathy, or through enthusiasm. An audience can relate to a strong speaker and a well written speech, and can be persuaded into seeing and understanding different points of view. Unfortunately not all speech writers have the insight or skill to do this, and it is obvious not only in the language and tone (formal, indifferent) but in the construction of the text.An example of this would be (former governor general of Australia) Sir William Deane’s speech “On the Occasion of an Ecumenical Service for the Victims of the…

    • 1666 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Even though the idea behind the speech for both the orators is different, both try to convince their audience to adopt their particular opinions and take certain actions. Religious revival is the main purpose of Jonathan Edward?s speech. He wants to warn the congregation that being church members will not automatically save them from going to hell. They have to experience a personal moment where they feel the grace of God. He wishes to change the behavior of his audience toward God and show them the correct path to salvation. In contrast, Patrick Henry?s main aim was to convince the delegates for the need of armed resistance. Henry and Edward make their speeches persuasive and inflammatory in order to make the audience think and do what they desire.…

    • 605 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Often in plays, the turning point is significant. The turning point usually occurs after the climax and begins the denouement. In William Shakespeare’s play, Julius Caesar, the funeral orations delivered by Marc Antony and Brutus is the turning point. Marc Antony delivers the more effective funeral oration because he plays with the commoners’ emotions and uses repetition to illustrate sarcasm which wins the crowd over. Funeral orations commonly focus on emotions.…

    • 450 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Jonathan Edwards

    • 371 Words
    • 2 Pages

    2. Using specific examples, give one example of a metaphor, one example of a simile, and one example of an allusion that Edwards uses in this passage from the sermon to elicit this particular mood. Jonathan Edwards is a preacher trying to scare his congregation into salvation…

    • 371 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays