Throughout history, writing has been an important way to inform, entertain, and influence people. All writers created their works around a central idea or theme. In American literature, a large amount of books follow common themes and are considered some of the greatest American writings. Of all the themes that people use, choices and possibilities are the most common and important themes throughout American literature.
One of the biggest writings that follow the theme Choices and possibilities is the play “The Crucible”, there were Several times a character in the story made a wrong decision placing the town in unfavorable situations. Before the beginning of the play, we learn that John Proctor and Abigail Williams loved each other while
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One of the most notable short stories that follows the theme is “The Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving. The dark writing style and the meaning of the story really helps the theme stand out. The greedy choices made by Tom and his wife push them to a quick and rather unfavorable demise. The first meeting, between Tom and the Devil, Tom first denied the trade for the Devils wealth worrying that he would lose his soul in the process. His refusal of the deal opened a new possibility for his wife who wanted the money. Annoyed at her husband's refusal, she searched for the Devil herself seeking out his treasure. When finding him she accepted his deal to bring everything of value in her home and bring it to him in exchange for the treasure. Later that day Tom found what looked like his wife's remains in her apron, showing us that her impromptu and greedy decision lead to her untimely death. Eventually Tom faces the Devil again and accepts the deal that was promised to him from the very beginning. Tom accepts the deal to cease the his hunger for money, without taking into account what terrible possibilities of the outcome could befall him. In the end of the story Tom realizes that he made a mistake in accepting the Devil’s deal and tried to become a holy man she could be saved by God. Even though he went to church and did everything morally …show more content…
Nick The Great Gatsby allows the book to fit the theme choices and possibilities perfectly throughout the entire novel. All the characters made decisions that influence the outcome of the plot, but Nick is the stepping stone which allows these dreams to come to fruition. Knowing what he is doing, but like others not planning out what may happen in the near future, Nick allows his cousin Daisy to cheat on her husband Tom and Tom to cheat on Daisy. Gatsby, the man Daisy was cheating with, befriended Nick so he could get closer to Daisy and even convinced him to get Daisy and him together over a nice lunch. Tom having a girl, named Myrtle, in New York City decided to tell Nick his best friend about her and even took him out to meet her. Nick, Meeting Myrtle for the first time, notices that she is also married to a man named George and that they live in an apartment above the gas station that they own. When Tom finally finds out about Daisy being unfaithful to him he humiliates Gatsby in front of Daisy then insults Daisy making her run off and drive back to her house not talking to Gatsby the entire ride. On the car ride back Daisy decides hit Myrtle who ran out of the gas station thinking it was Tom and continues driving without looking back or slowing down. Tom driving back in a separate car
Nick Carraway says: “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy – they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together and let other people clean up the mess they had made…” (Fitzgerald 170). Nick makes this observation about his family in the novel “The Great Gatsby” by F.Scott Fitzgerald. In the spring of 1922, Nick moves to West Egg and meets a mysterious man named Jay Gatsby; there he witnesses Gatsby longing for a life with Daisy Buchanan and failing to achieve the American dream. Tom and Daisy initially show their carelessness by deciding to marry each other when neither of them were fully committed. Their thoughtless behavior carries on through their marriage as they both partake in affairs and emotionally torture their partners. When the Buchanans show their next act of carelessness it results in the death of three people. In “The Great Gatsby”, Tom and Daisy continually show how careless they are and there are many repercussions to their actions.
"The Devil and Tom Walker" is a short story by Washington Irving that many wonder about. It teaches a lesson and has many archetypes in the characters. In literature, an archetype is a typical character, a type of action, or a situation that leads to the representation of such universal patterns of human nature. An archetype may be a character, a theme, a symbol or it can even be a setting. Tom walker is the protagonist of the story he is the main character.
The statement,“The Crucible is essentially about courage, weakness, and truth,” is proven true numerous times, throughout the play. The Crucible was written by Arthur Miller, about the true events that happened in Salem, Massachusetts, between the years 1692 and 1693. The Salem witch trials consisted of many hangings, lies, and complete mass hysteria. The citizens of Salem followed the religion of Puritanism, and the ideas of predestination. The root of the mass hysteria comes from their belief in the sense that in something happens then it must have been planned by God. In Miller’s portrayal of the story, Abigail Williams was the ringleader of the witch trials, and she used the idea of predestination to cover up her own sins. Abigail was a very manipulative girl and ruined many lives. John Proctor, Mary Warren, and Elizabeth Proctor were just a few of the victims in Abby’s game. John, Mary, and Elizabeth exhibit the traits courage, weakness, and truth, whether it was in a positive or negative way.
A part of the novel that had heavy effect on Nick Carraway was when he hides Toms secrets and as well as Daisy and Gatsby’s. Tom reveals that he has an affair with another woman named Myrtle, but Nick doesn't tell daisy about it. Also, Gatsby was Daisy’s first love. Nick helped them meet, and have affairs behind Tom’s back. He was covering the mistake of others which can end up in huge problems if revealed. Sadly, Nick decides to stay silent from both side, and ended up getting along with everything. Because of this, another mess occurred; Myrtle dies in a car accident. Slowly, Nick becomes devastated with all this, and starts to change a bit.
Nick’s father said “Whenever you feel like criticizing any one, just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages you’ve had.” This verbal guidance passed on to Nick by his father is put into play every time Nick meets someone. Nick never judged anyone even after having secrets being revealed to him. One of these secrets would be when Tom introduces Nick to his mistress, Myrtle. Tom trusts Nick with this information because of Gatsby’s reserved judgments. On the other side, Nick initiates controversial contact between Tom’s wife, Daisy, and Gatsby. Both Daisy and Gatsby trust Nick to keep this relationship secret because Gatsby will not judge. The ability to reserve judgment, that was passed on to Nick from his father, keeps Nick at a neutral stand point between Tom and Daisy’s relationship; he never judges their doings as being immoral or more unjust than the others. Without the advice previously given to Nick by his father, Gatsby and Daisy do not trust Tom and therefor nothing ever happens between the two. Gatsby’s reserved judgments creates the foundation for the main story
Written during the American Romanticism period, “The Devil and Tom Walker,” by William Irving, personifies the belief in the primacy of imagination. The period of Romanticism in America is often seen as the crucial period of American culture, as it was the central movement of the Renaissance period that moved into a more free-feeling and artistic approach to literature. American Gothic literature made its early appearance with William Irving, first with “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” in 1820, and carrying over to “The Devil and Tom Walker” in 1824, both of which use a macabre approach to establish a moral ending (Matterson). Told by a narrator known as Geoffrey Crayon, “The Devil and Tom Walker” takes on the tone of a legend or tall tale as the story describes the life of a greedy money lender by the name of Tom Walker, who sells his soul to the devil to gain wealth. Irving ultimately uses literary elements such as symbolism and character development, as well as themes such as greed and hypocrisy to establish a moral to the corrupt man’s tale.
Washington Irving’s “The Devil and Tom Walker” includes great examples of Romanticism, such as symbols in nature having links to the supernatural, the importance of the inner nature, and the emphasis of the individual. In the story, Tom Walker is a selfish man who cares more about money than he does about anyone else, including his wife. One day, while he is walking through the woods, Tom Walker comes across the Devil, who makes a deal with him to exchange his soul for the treasure that is buried in those woods. Tom declines and returns back to his wife and tells her that he has passed on an opportunity that could bring them lots of money. Tom’s wife, outraged by his actions, decides to strike a deal of her own with the Devil and after several attempts, she never returns from the woods. The next time Tom goes to the woods he finds that his wife had been killed by the Devil. He finally agrees to make the deal with him, now that Tom doesn’t have to share anything with his wife. Tom ignores the Devil’s suggestion of becoming a slave-trader and becomes a moneylender instead. He gets wea...
Making decisions can be hard but making decisions that can effect a whole village are even harder. Sometimes you have to choose the decision that causes hardship to do what is right. In Salem, in the 1600's, life or death situations had to be made that would effect not one but many. Decisions made by John Proctor in Miller's play, the Crucible, illustrate that life is full of hard decisions that can bring hardship but sometimes turn out to be for the best.
On the morning after the accident Nick went over to Gatsby’s to go see if he was still there, and talk to him to see if he was going to stay or not. “Go to Atlantic city for a week, or up to Montreal. he wouldn’t consider it. He couldn’t possibly leave Daisy until he knew what she was going to do” (Fitzgerald 154). Nick should of told him to get real and try to save himself the daisy later, and see if that will him do anything besides stay home waiting for someone to come in and kill him. Also nick never told Gatsby the true of how Daisy was kind of like playing her husband and Gatsby. “[Tom and Daisy] weren’t happy, and neither of them [ate] and yet they weren’t unhappy either.” (Fitsgerald 152). Even though Nick knew this information he still kept it from Gatsby like a friend but he should of because it would of lead him to probably something else besides his death. Like him probably when to their house or just do something else besides wait for
As Nick and Gatsby become more acquainted, Nick is invited to dine with Gatsby for lunch. They arrive at the restaurant, and eat while engaging with one of Gatsby’s business partners. After the three enjoy their lunch, Nick bumps into Tom Buchanan, the husband of Nick’s cousin, Daisy. Attempting to introduce Gatsby to Tom, an “…unfamiliar look of embarrassment came over Gatsby face… I turned towards Mr. Gatsby, but he was no longer there” (74). The reason for his disappearance is unknown, thus adding to the ambiguity of Gatsby.
At the end of the book, it is revealed that all of Tom, Daisy, and Nick are extremely careless. Nick’s carelessness detriments his reliability as a narrator. Because of Nick’s deep and familiar connection with Gatsby, Gatsby is “the exception” and Nick cannot be a reliable narrator towards him. Nick really admires and appreciates Gatsby as a friend, although it seems that Gatsby may not feel nth same way ads Nick. Gatsby may have befriended Nick solely because of his connection with Daisy. Nicks obsession with Gatsby and Gatsby’s obsession with
Nick finds out a few days after his move that an adored man by the name of Jay Gatsby lives next door to him. He hears about the parties that he throws and such from a friend of his cousin Daisy. He meets Daisy Buchanon, her husband Tom Buchanon, and friend Jordan Baker, at their house in East Egg. This is when everything begins to unravel. Nick is then invited to Gatsby 's party and attends it. After the party it is very apparent that Nick is intrigued in Gatsby. He even watches the party unwind, "There was music from my neighbor 's house through the summer nights. In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and he champagne and the stars. At high tide in the afternoon I watched his guests diving from the tower of his raft, or taking the sun on the hot sand of his beach while his motor-boats slid the waters of the Sound, drawing aquaplanes over cataracts of foam. On week-ends his Rolls-Royce became an omnibus, bearing parties to and from the city between nine in the morning and long past midnight, while his station wagon scampered like a brisk yellow bug to meet all trains. And on Mondays eight servants, including an extra gardener, toiled all day with mops and scrubbing-brushes and hammers and garden-shears, repairing the ravages of the night before." (3.1) Nick eventually meets up
In every literary work, there are themes. A theme is a broad idea, moral or message of a book or story. One individual may construe the themes of a book or story differently than another, but that is the pure beauty of themes. One great literary work is The Crucible, a play written by Arthur Miller. Succinctly, the play is about the Salem witch trials that took place in Massachusetts in 1692. Throughout the story, the townspeople indict their neighbors of being a witch and practicing witchcraft. On the surface, this historical drama has a few universal and enduring themes. Themes are universal because regardless of where in the world, the ideas still relates to everyone and is understood. Themes are enduring because the ideas are found back in ancient times and today in modern society. In view of the fact that The Crucible was published in 1953 and is still being read and analyzed around the world, the themes of reputation, empowerment and hysteria found in the play are both universal and enduring.
Exposition: Nick Carraway goes to dinner at Daisy and Tom Buchanan’s house, allowing readers to meet these important characters. Tom invites Nick to come along with him to Manhattan, while he spends time with Myrtle, his mistress. Nick attends Gatsby’s party, which allows Nick and Gatsby to become acquainted. Jordan Baker tells Nick that Gatsby and Daisy were once lovers,
Many authors contributed to American literature between 1865 and 1914. Although these authors came from all over the country and lived different life styles, they still managed to include similar themes in their works. A theme is considered to be the main idea of the work, or a meaning behind the story. Within this period of American literature, three themes continued to emerge: the concept of true beauty, protection of nature, and perception versus reality.