The short story, “The Devil and Tom Walker”, features two of the main characters which are Tom Walker and his wife, Mrs. Walker. Tom and his wife don’t get along very well like many believe couples do. Mrs. Walker actually physically abuses Tom, but he is too afraid to admit it and divorce her. That’s why they are still a married couple. Although both Tom and his wife are very greedy and give in to deals with the Devil, they have very different personalities and treatments towards each other. Both Tom and his wife are very greedy for wealth. This extreme greed leads them to make the bad decision of making a deal with the Devil. Tom agrees to sell his soul to the Devil for wealth. “...Tom brought him to business, and they began to haggle about the terms on which the former was to have the pirate’s treasure. There was on condition which need no be mentioned, ,being generally understood in all cases where the devil grants favours…” (5). And his wife had …show more content…
Mrs. Walker was very tempered and mean to her husband. She even physically abused him. “Tom’s wife was a tall termagant, fierce of temper, loud of tongue, and strong of arm” (1). Tom would never admit what his wife was doing to her because it would make him look like a coward. Tom, on the other hand, wasn’t abusive or very tempered. Tom was more unhappy with not being wealthy and in his marriage with his wife. He was also lazy and not very hardworking, which was part of the reason he didn’t have much money. “He even felt something like gratitude towards the black woodsman, who he had considered done him a kindness. He sought, therefore, to cultivate a further acquaintance with him….. In this way he made money hand over hand; became a rich and mighty man” (5-6). Tom made his deal with the Devil because he knew it would get him money easily without them having to do much work for
First of all, both Tom Walker and Jabes Stone are not wealthy people and they are not the happiest in the world. In frustration, they both decided to deal with the devil and sold their soul to the devil. Both Tom and Jabes got what they wanted but only for a temporary time.
In “The Devil and Tom Walker,” written by Washington Irving’s, Tom Walker gives his soul to the devil for greediest. For example, in the story, it was said, “He accumulated bonds and mortgages, gradually squeezed his customers closer and closer and sent them at length, dry as a sponge, from his door.” This shows how greedy and selfish he was for not caring about what anyone else feels,
Perhaps in both stories the role of the devil, whether truly present in the plot or only mentioned as figure of evil, is very central to portraying the Puritans. In “The Devil and Tom Walker,” the devil is simply a large man covered in soot. Irving describes him as, “a great black man” and “his face was neither black nor copper color, but swarthy and dingy, and begrimed in soot (Irving, 179).” Most Puritans would believe the devil is a fiery, red, horned man with a pointed tell and trident, but this is not the case. The devil is further established when he himself states, “I amuse myself by presiding at the persecutions of Quakers and Anabaptists; I am the great patron and prompter of slave dealers…(Irving, 180).
Soon he falls asleep and when he wakes up, he finds that he is on a table and a scythe is being lowered from the ceiling. The scythe is another symbol of death. As the scythe is coming down, he tries to find a way to get away from it. At the end of the story, he is saved at the last moment by " an outstretched arm caught my own as I fell, fainting, into the abyss." Washington Irving also talks about death and the devil in his short story "The Devil and Tom Walker." He writes more about the devil than he does death and he does not put himself in the place of the main character like Poe did. Tom, the main character, is a greedy person along with his wife. As he comes home one night, he goes through some woods and meets the devil. "Tom might have felt disposed to sell himself to the devil," but he was afraid to. On the other hand, his wife was not afraid and she disappears. Then Tom makes a deal with the devil, but soon "he thought with regret of the bargain he had made with his black friend, and set his wits to work to cheat him out of the conditions." He turns to religion and carries Bibles with him to keep the devil away, but it does
Both “The Devil and Tom Walker” and “The Devil and Daniel Webster” are exemplary specimens of Faustian myths, and as such have very many similarities and concurrences. But, they also emphasize different aspects of the characters and their respective personalities. These two commendable stories serve as excellent chronicles of literature and as worthy examples of moral lessons for all ages.
Can you imagine yourself locked up in a room with no doors? Similar to a room with no doors, there is no way out of hell if it was one's destiny. In the short story "The Devil & Tom Walker" by Washington Irving, the main character's fate is hell because of his wrong decisions in life, accepting a deal with the devil for earthly benefits. Irving reinforces his message about not making decisions that may damn your soul with the use of literary elements and figurative language. Wisely, Irving combines characterization, mood and point of view to perpetuate the theme of the story in the reader's mind.
In the case of the first poem, it was more of the perspective of a high class woman. The narrator who saw the women cleaning in the airport did not like the scene due to the fact that she believes that there are better jobs and options out there. As a woman coming from a higher class, she may think one way. However, we do not know whether or not the lady actually cleaning feels the same way. In line 16, Oliver mentions, “Yes, a person wants to stand in a happy place”, in a poem. But first we must watch her as she stares down at her labor, which is dull enough.” This quote goes to show that the narrator dislikes the fact that she is doing such a low job. The narrator considers that peoples too showy and live only on the external, and the woman
Irving, Washington. “The Devil and Tom Walker”. Elements of Literature: Fifth Course. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2008. 175-185. Print.
Washington Irving displays a sense of humor throughout “The Devil and Tom Walker” about greed, marriage and religion to help the reader, become a better person. Tom Walker makes a Faustian Bargain, also known as a deal with the devil. Tom has a lot of problems with his abusive wife, his desire for riches and getting into the afterlife. Washington Irving tells us the story of Tom Walker in a humorous way. Irving does this to display a message to his readers.
Rip also connects with his dog wolf when needing to relax from his wife. Rip connects with his dog because his dog is also ill-treated showing no one truly understands him. Rip needs isolation from people and go to the woods in order to think clearly and creatively. In “Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving, Tom thinks rationally by realizing his outcomes if he deals with the devil. The theme in Devil and Tom Walker shows choices and shortcuts always come with consequences. Irving says, “By degrees, however, Tom brought him to business, and they began to haggle about the terms on which the former was to have the pirate’s treasure. There was one condition, which need not to be mentioned, being generally understood in all cases where the devil grants favors; but there were others about which, though of less importance, he was inflexibly obstinate. He insisted that the money found through his means should be employed in his service” (Irving 9). Tom needed help from the devil, but realized what he needed to do for the assistance. Tom’s greediness blinded him from not being able to see that the devil duped him. The devil’s offering distracted Tom from his rational thought because of his obsession with money. Tom thought rationally with the devil by trying to reason with him unlike all the other selfish people who went to the devil for support. Today, people need rationalism to think logically to determine outcomes of their
Some people are willing to sell their soul for money. Life has several meanings behind it, but some will never identify them. People live to find their purpose, but others only live for the containment of money. Currency is just a simple piece of paper that can be burned, ripped, or even thrown away. So why do people value money more than their life? That is a question maybe Tom Walker and his wife could answer. On another note, a soul is something that cannot be easily destroyed. People like Tom Walker and his wife would easily make the decision to trade their souls for the gift of money. In response to Tom’s wife’s actions, she was ripped apart and dead. The Devil eventually took Tim with him after he proved himself to be the greedy person he was. “The black man whisked him like a child into the saddle, gave the horse the lash, and away he galloped, with Tom on his back, in the midst of the thunderstorm” (Irving 14). No matter what kind of person someone is believed to be, they may have evil buried on the inside just waiting for the opportunity to
The Devil and Tom Walker aims to show how greed makes people willing to do anything to gain wealth. Irving wants the readers to learn from Tom Walker’s mistakes, he says “let all gripping money-brokers lay this story to heart” (Irving, Washington). He wants the readers to think of Tom and what happened to him. He tries to warn the readers from greed in the ending of the story, in the end Tom and all of his money was gone, nothing was left but his ghost haunting his house. Which shows how great evil occurs as result of people's greed. Irving illustrates to the readers the consequences of man's desire for material wealth. He shows that Money is the number one goal for most people in society. And he tries to show that integrity is more important than money. “Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction”, this shows how greed affects people and put evil into their minds. In the ending Irving promotes contentment, he wants the readers to be content with what they have. He wants people to think of Tom Walker and how he ended up, to learn from his mistakes and avoid
The evil is shown, by the devil in how he is premeditating the murder of a "Deacon Peabody". Walker contemplates this meeting with the devil, and recognizes that evil is wealth is the first priority for him. Tom Walker's wife, was filled with cupidity and wanted to acquire the gold that the devil had promised. Walker hadn't obliged to his wife, and due to his wife's acute cupidity set out on her own journey to acquire that gold. She had been killed because of her greed, and lack of morals for self-prosperity, which resulted in her death.
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...
In the Devil and Tom Walker Tom’s wife has a temper, loud mouth and she was strong . His face sometimes showed signs that their fighting may have been more than words. She would hide things from Tom. They did not have a very good marriage. Again Irving portrayed the wife as loud and nagging.