The archetypal theme of selling one’s soul to the devil may give you fame, fortune, power, revenge or beauty, but it can also get someone hurt or you will get hurt. Sometimes you will lose everything you have and belong to the devil forever. In Washington Irving’s, “The Devil and Tom Walker” and “Snow White and The Huntsman” both had a character that dealt with the devil. They both had riches and beauty until it all changed when the devil came to take them to hell or someone stronger takes their life away.
Foremost, Tom Walker and Queen Ravenna had motivations for dealing with the devil. Tom Walker’s motivation involved his wife. For example, Tom’s wife was killed by the devil and left her heart and liver. Tom found the heart and liver and
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
"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.
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.
In this short story, imagination is used in different ways. The act of speaking to the devil himself is highly unlikely. This is one of the imagination aspects of romanticism. Another example of imagination is at the end of the story when Tom was old and nearing the end of his life, he was working when a black man holding a black horse approached the doors and told Tom “You’re come for!” (Irving) Tom was taken away with the man down the streets. Tom’s wealth was gone after that. This event is as well, highly unlikely to happen in reality. Imagination is significant to Romantics because they believed that their imaginations, dreams and thoughts of what might be were the causes of life experiences. Imagination lets people see past reality into the world of what might
In Washington Irving’s “The Devil and Tom Walker” Tom Walker was convinced by the devil to make a deal to sell his soul to him. “The Black Man told him of great sums of money which had been buried by Kidd the Pirate, under the oak trees on the ridge not far from the morass.” That quote from Washington Irving’s “The Devil and Tom Walker,” explains why Tom was interested in selling his soul to
Washington Irving the author of the tale “The Devil and Tom Walker” uses stories from literatures past, to make a compelling tale, The Devil and Tom walker represents the importance of processing morals and the problems associated when virtue fails to exist. He also creates the right tone for the story and gives details throughout the story, so the readers figure out the topic of the story and how it will change their perspective on the temptation of greed. “Greed is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction.”-Erich Fromm. He describes each character in a way that you can assume who they are, their character, and the decisions that they might make throughout the story. However, he provides a background for each character to understand their choses and their ultimate demise.
There have been numerous stories, tunes, movies, and craft depicting the exemplary story of man vs. the fallen angel. The old German legend of "Faust," which is accepted to be the primary impact in Washington Irving's "The Devil and Tom Walker", was utilized as a lesson to alarm individuals from wrongdoing. On the other hand, Washington utilized the general subject of bartering with the villain for a lavishly typical and captivating story with inconceivable detail and style of prominent gothic fiction in Europe, where he inhabited the time it was composed. Irving's dull unmistakable style and three naughty characters passed on the ethical message of Faust all around by utilizing typical talk and dark parody.
In the book of “The Devil and Tom Walker” marriage was where the most struggle lies.
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.
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.
In Washington Irving’s short story, “The Devil and Tom Walker,” Tom revolves his life around his own selfish wants. Tom and his wife were not a right match for each other. The trouble in their relationship is they would seek out the others stash of treasures to take as their own. In their mind they cannot be happy with what they already have, but imbedded in each other is the need for more. Greed overshadows Tom’s inner conscience, and he goes to great lengths to satisfy his wants. On one ordinary day Tom decides to take a shortcut home, “Like most shortcuts, it was an ill chosen route. The swamp was thickly grown with great gloomy pines and hemlocks, some of them ninety feet high, which made it dark at noonday… (Irving 4).” Any typical human being would have enough common sense not to take a route through a dark, frightening swap. While resting in the swap, Tom met a strange “black man.” Tom’s wife fell into the trap many do, the idea of wealth caused her to fall into the hands of the devil. With his wife gone, he made a deal with the devil to open up a broker’s shop in order to ob...
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...
How would one feel if one came face to face with the Devil himself? Would one run away screaming or would one let the Devil change their views of the world? Gary and Goodman Brown both had different experiences with the Devil resulting in some of the best works of fiction ever wrote. Gary met the Devil as a young boy who feared him unrelentingly, but Goodman Brown talked to the Devil and let the Devil change his life and the viewpoints of people he knows. I plan to discuss on how Gary, from the short story “The Man in the Black Suit”, and Goodman Brown, from “Young Goodman Brown”, dealt with the Devil and compare their encounters together.
"It's the devils sure enough. Three of 'em! Lordy, Tom, we're goners! Can you pray?" Tom Sawyer loves to adventure. In the Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, Tom the main character witnesses a murder with his best friend Huck. That changes the whole story and in the end the two boys find the murderer dead, his hidden treasure and become rich. Tom’s characterization traits prove that he has a true boyhood that others would admire.