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Metaphors In Sinners

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In “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” Johnathan Edwards uses rhetorical devices such as metaphors, similes and personifications. He uses these in order to scare his audience about Hell and to obey God and his message. In order to get people to follow his message and take his warnings, he uses tactics to scare people into in believing their unfortunate fates if they aren’t obedient to God and the Bible.
Edwards uses descriptive images such as metaphors to compare his people to loathsome spiders. Edwards says that “The God that holds you over the pit of Hell, much as one holds a spider, or someone loathsome insect over the fire (Edwards Pg. 1)”. Edwards compares God to an all-powerful being, which has control over people and can send them into hell, just like a person would kill a spider. The disobedient civilians are considered repulsive insects that belong over a fire. He uses this metaphor to frighten his audience into obeying God or else he would hold them above Hell, just like a person holds a nuisance insect to their death. This affects the audience by having them fear God and their ultimate fate if they don’t obey him, prompting them to be more obedient to God’s message.
Edwards preaches using similes as well as other …show more content…

He explains, “There is Hell’s wide gaping mouth open (Page 2)”. This implies that Hell is a wide mouth waiting to swallow those who disobey God. It also conveys that people should follow God’s rules in order to avoid going to Hell or being swallowed by Hell’s open mouth, which awaits them. Edwards daunts his believes into following God in order to get into heaven and avoid Hell. He makes Hell seem like the worst thing ever imagined and that God is willing to send people there for not believing/ following him. Edwards initiates fear in order to get people to believe in God, so Hell doesn’t swallow them and they

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