Wednesday, July 10, 2013

How did Jonathan Edwards communicate his social views in "The Devil and Tom Walker"?The answer should be in form of an essay in which you...

It's rather difficult to tell to what your question is
referring because Jonathan Edwards did not write "The Devil and Tom Walker"--Washington
Irving did, and he and Edwards would have had very different views.  Irving actually
mocks the Puritans in the short story. Are you perhaps writing a comparison between the
presentation of Puritan views in Irving's "Devil and Tom Walker" and Edwards' "Sinners
in the Hands of an Angry God"?


I'm adding this part because
I can't answer this question twice. No offense to whoever created your assignment, but
it's very awkwardly written because an author cannot "communicate his views" through
another author's work. At any rate, what your teacher most likely wants you to discuss
is how Irving's story illustrates some of Jonathan Edwards' and other Puritans' views. 
Here are several examples of Edwards' beliefs evident in "The Devil and Tom
Walker."


1. Edwards and the Puritans viewed the devil as a
man in black who roamed the forest looking for sinners to sign their names in his book.
In "Devil," Tom meets the devil in the forest, and the devil does indeed try to get Tom
to make a deal with him (i.e., sign over his soul).


2.
Edwards emphasizes hell as a fiery pit ever waiting to swallow up unrepentant sinners.
In Irving's story when Tom meets the devil, he is covered in soot, and Tom smells a
burning scent emanating from the devil. This implies that the devil guards a fiery
version of hell.


One thing to keep in mind is that Irving's
story is a satire; so he is not trying to present Edwards' view of the devil, sinners,
and hell as factual; rather, Irving is mocking Puritan fears, superstitions, and
hypocrisies.


I hope that this is a start for your
assignment!  Good luck!

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