The foundations of our ideas are connected through the various uses of language. The anecdotes as used by George Whitman and Jonathan Edwards, two writers of the eighteenth century, differ abundantly in theme and explanation, but yet their anecdotes have similarities in regard to tone, imagery, diction, poetic devices, and their reflections on human nature. However, the anecdotes that are used by the two authors also at times are in sharp contrast to each other. Both Edwards's and Whitman's anecdotes can be analyzed in the areas of tone, diction and syntax.