The Crucible and "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God"

The last act of The Crucible was about how far John Proctor would go to save his life on Earth and to save his life in Heaven. He confessed to witchcraft orally, but would no sign the papers (Miller 142). He knows that God might have it in His heart to forgive his adultery sin and even his false claim to be in league with the devil. But John Proctor knew that God can not forgive him for physically signing a paper acknowledging that he was associated with the devil (Miller 142). The fear of not being able to ascend into Heaven upon death was enough to straighten John Proctor out and make him rearrange his priorities.

Jonathon Edwards's extremely pessimistic sermon (I have to admit that when the author and story title on the English lesson plan page, I thought it said Jonathon Edward "Scissor Hands of an Angry God". That is what I get for doing the blog last in my homework schedule this evening.) about how God "holds you over the pit of Hell" (Edwards 99). In a twisted way, John Proctor and Jonathon Edwards agree that God makes the choice of who goes to Heaven and who goes to Hell, as well as the fact that they both believe that themselves and everyone around them are going to Hell. Even in Grapes of Wrath there was the crazy Mrs. Sandry lady who believed that everyone was a Sinner and therefore was on a straight path toward eternal rot in Hell. That pessimistic view point was apparently a popular one. I would like to have assumed that the majority of people thought they were going to go to Heaven, but I guess many people believed that they did not deserve to go to Heaven because of the sins and crimes that they committed on this Earth.

The Crucible took place in 1692 (Miller) and Jonathon Edwards's sermon was first delivered in 1741 (Edwards). Even with the almost fifty year difference, the points made by The Crucible and Edwards's sermon were very similar. Edwards preached that now is the time, and possibly the only opportunity, to join with God deep inside and emotionally and physically, not just going through the motions of praying and reading the Bible (which Edwards mentions once, maybe twice, that will get you a spot in Hell [like the joke? Edwards basically tells his congregation that they are all terrible people who are going to burn in Hell because God does not want them, and for the entire sermon! The WHOLE entire thing!]). John Proctor is slightly more optimistic because he did not think he was going to Hell until he broke one of the Ten Commandments. Committing adultery was some pretty serious stuff back in Colonial America, as it is still today in the United States of America. That got Proctor a dangling spot "above the pit of hell" (Edwards 99). Then after he confessed to supposed witchcraft and being a devil worshiper, John Proctor realized that he had it better off with just the adultery against him. The devil worshiping thing would have got him a much worse spot in hell.

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.

Miller, Arthur. The Crucible: A Play in Four Acts. New York, NY: Penguin, 2003. Print.