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The devil and tom walker and the devil and daniel webster compare and contrast essay
The devil and tom walker and the devil and daniel webster compare and contrast essay
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A Faustian legend is a story in which a character trades something of great personal value to the devil in order to receive personal gain. Since this type of literature originated in the Fourth Century it has spread throughout the world. Two relatively recent versions of this legend are “The Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving and “The Devil and Daniel Webster” by Vincent Benét. These stories show many similarities as well as a few differences. While both Benét and Irving present similar themes in setting of the tales and motivation in the Faustian character, they do differ in the nature of that character and their visual presentation of the Devil.
A fairly obvious comparison between these two stories is the setting in which they take place. Both occur in New England territory, mainly in the forests and hilly country. It also seems as if the land in each of the tales is rocky and hard to work. The geographical features of these lands sound much the same. In fact, each of the two takes place in an area very close to, if not in, Massachusetts. Tom Walker lives a few miles from Boston, while Jabez Stone lives in New Hampshire, near the area where that state meets up with Vermont and Massachusetts. Daniel Webster lives in Massachusetts, in a town called Marshfield. The geographical and cartographical similarities here show an obvious parallel between the two.
The motivation of the Faustian character is to a great extent the same. Both Tom Walker and Jabez Stone manifestly want a better life than what they had. Each character is down on their luck. Walker lives in “a forlorn-looking house that stood alone, and had an air of starvation” (Irving 259) while Stone is “an unlucky man” (“Daniel Webster”). Each of the...
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...niel Webster”). This version of Old Scratch is obviously not the rugged, “manly-man” of Irving’s writing. As noted later, this devil also has teeth filed to a point. By introducing the Devil in such a light, Benét is apotheosizing his mental power as opposed to physical power. This creature is more than a match for the smartest human who will be pitted against him. Showing the Devil like this early in the story makes Daniel Webster’s victory over him later all the better.
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.
Washington Irving is considered to be the foremost American author of the early romantic era. As such, the majority of his works contain elements consistent with Romantic ideals, including his short story The Devil and Tom Walker. Through literary elements such as diction, imagery, tone, syntax, and figurative language, Irving portrays Tom Walker in a negative light. In a larger sense however, Irving’s use of these literary elements goes beyond merely characterizing Tom Walker, as the entire story can be seen as an allegory critiquing society during the Industrial Revolution. Irving’s utilizes diction masterfully in order to portray Walker’s greediness.
Washington Irving, one of the first American authors to gain international recognition, believed in order for an American writer to be successful, they had to imitate British literature. Irving was born in 1783 and was always exceedingly talented in reading and writing. During the 1800’s, short stories had just became a new attraction. People did not know much about them. However, Irving wanted to explore more and began writing a short story which emphasized the evil temptations and influence the devil has on all people. In Washington Irving’s dark short story, “The Devil and Tom Walker”, Irving displays the theme of moral corruption through symbolism.
Discussions of the devil and hellfire generally have a negative connotation in our society. Because of this, a story entitled “The Devil and Tom Walker” would conjure some scary images in the head of the reader. However, Washington Irving uses his tone to make this story more pleasant, and even humorous. Irving makes Tom Walker’s deal with the “black man” less horrific by approaching eerie locations with ease, exaggerating certain traits of the historical period written about, and personifying his characters in an ironic manner.
The Devil’s Role in Paradise Lost, The Bible, Faust, and The Devil and Tom Walker
1. Cooksey, Thomas L. `"Talk Not of a Wife" - American interpretations of the Faust legend in 'The Devil and Daniel Webster,' 'Cabin in the Sky' and 'Damn Yankees.' Fall 1999
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.
The main focus of the story “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne is the triumph of evil over good. A supposedly good man is tempted by evil and allows himself to be converted into a man of evil. This is much like the situation that arises in Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, where two people are tempted to sin and give in thus submitting themselves to the power of the devil. In this novel, the area where the devil resides is strictly parallel to that in “Young Goodman Brown”.
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.
The short story "The Devil and Tom Walker," by Washington Irving, reveals the impulses and temptations that affect people in their daily lives. Irving develops and supports his story through exemplification. His purpose was to show what choices or decisions people have to make in their daily lives in order to connect with his audience, to be able to make his story more relatable and enjoyable by the people. In his story, Irving states, "The devil said: In this neighborhood, I am known by the name of the black woodsman. I am he to whom the red men consecrated this spot, and in honor of whom they now and then roasted a white man, by way of sweet-smelling sacrifice," from which we can infer various ethical, social, and cultural influences and
As humans, we go through life’s obstacles and find ourselves lost in these obstacles. Many times one is approached by friends, family and sometimes strangers. As they become aware of your circumstances and obstacles they attempt to give you advice by sharing their beliefs. Similarly, in literature, a devil character appears during a crisis or weak moment's in the protagonist's life to challenge, guide, bring out qualities and thoughts that already live within the protagonist. Although the devil character can be perceived as evil and devious, the devil character has the ability to test the protagonist in order to put the character in contact with something already existent within them.
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...
Irving’s dark descriptive style and symbolism are illustrated by the lesson of horrific outcomes due to taking shortcuts. From the beginning of time, the devil was known to make deals with weak mortals. The devil often asks for your soul in exchange for riches or your heart’s desire. Irving based his story on this archetypal plot of selling one’s soul to the devil. This makes it impossible for someone to resist the offer unless one has strong principal values.
Washington Irving is one of the pioneers in the literature that defined American literature in the early colonial period in the United States. Irving defined American folklore with his publications that were loosely inspired by German fairytales created by the Grimm brothers. His Short story “the Devil and Tom Walker” is a timeless piece of literature that encompasses the mystery of the unknown in the early colonial time period that Irving grew up in. Irving himself grew up wealthy, but always showed a dislike for wealthy business men that acquired their wealth from ill-gotten ways. These opinions clearly leak into many of his writings that he has published throughout his career. Irving's "The devil and Tom Walker" was one of the first pieces
Faust originated as German folklore, and has been written into literature several times. For the purpose of this paper, the characters will be considered as they are represented in the play Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. When looking at Goethe’s representation of Faust, he bears several resemblances to Hawthorne’s Chillingworth. The first aspect of the characters to be considered lies in who they were before their stories began. The article describes how both men were scholars, devoting their lives to study and knowledge. They were considered doctors due to their rigorous study of medicine. Because of their investment in the quest for knowledge, both men were separated from humanity, but yearned to understand it just the same. As Stein says in his article, “Like all Fausts, he [Chillingworth] has found it necessary to pursue knowledge beyond ordinary limits….Scholar, alchemist, magician, and physician, he resembles the Faustian hero” (78). Hawthorne seemed to paint Chillingworth in the image of Faust, creating him as a character so consumed by his studies that he lives outside natural society. A direct allusion to Faust seems to be made in the midst of The Scarlet Letter, calling Chi...
They show Faustus’s foolishness in lacking to understand what their consequences are. When Faustus begins to doubt, Mephistophilis shows the seven deadly sins in human form. Pride is the first and most important sin that enters. He says, “I am pride. I distain to have any parents” (Marlowe Act 2, Scene 2, Line 79). Pride is making the point that no one can tell him what to do and that he has authority over his own life. This sounds similar to Faustus because he wanted to have all the knowledge he could to control things, however, he had to sell his soul to the devil to get this knowledge. This would mean that Lucifer has control over Doctor Faustus’s life. The contradicting thought shows that Faustus did not fully understand what he was doing when he sold his soul. It is interesting that pride is the first sin listed because the first sin committed was that of being prideful. This, of course, was when Lucifer got kicked out of heaven along with other angels when he thought he could become higher than God. Doctor Faustus is