In this book the author uses excellent words to set the tone of the story, such as fierce, strong, nonsense, and ominously.The author also includes some German words and their translation. Raus, ‘raus, schneller, which means out, out, faster, is one example. There is many tones in this book. Some of the tones are scared and worried, because you never know when something bad will happen. Some other books written by Jane Yolen are Sister Light, Sister Dark, Owl Moon, and The Dragon’s Boy.
At first glance, one may think the resolutions of the stories would be exactly the same, but they actually are not. In “The Devil and Tom Walker”, the main character, Tom Walker, makes a deal with the devil in order to become wealthy. The devil comes to Tom Walker when their deal comes to a close, and Tom runs away from all of his wealthy gains and problems, losing everything. In “The Devil and Daniel Webster”, the main character, Jabez Stone, also makes a deal with the devil in order to become prosperous and lucky, but his luck eventually runs out and the devil comes for him. Jabez Stone, however, does not get taken by the devil and is saved by his neighbor, Daniel Webster, who makes sure the devil
The Devil and Tom Walker is a short story published in 1824 by Washington Irving. The story takes place during 1724 in the colony of Massachusetts when Tom Walker, who is a greedy miser, happens to meet an old lumberjack in the nearby swamp. This lumberjack is known as Old Scratch and offers Tom immense wealth, specifically the treasure of Kidd the Pirate, in exchange for Tom’s soul. Tom initially needs time to ponder the offer, but eventually accepts it after his wife dies trying to fulfill the deal herself. Tom lives his whole life as an usurer, while still being just as cheap as he was, eventually getting taken by Old Scratch and fulfilling his end of the bargain. The Devil and Tom Walker is an allegory to many topics such as temptation,
Literature has been around for many ages. There are many different types of literature fro. many different times. The way people write has changed throughout the years. American literature is commonly talk about because it is well liked, although sometimes it can be hard to understand if you are currently a student. There is nothing quite like the stories that were written in this time. The Devil and Tom Walker, The devil and Daniel Webster, The Man in the Black Suit, and The Scarlet Letter all things in common because they all describe the devil in a special way along with authors of the stories were all men.
Satire is used by many famous writers to create humor and to criticize people’s unwise, and senseless actions. As George Orwell once said, "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." (Orwell, 1945). People will always be greedy and think they are smarter than others but this is untrue. The one who thinks he is smarter or better than the other will always end up losing in life. In the short story “The Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving, satire is incorporated in a perfect way. This story is about Tom Walker, who makes a pact with the devil, and ends up lending money at high interest rates. When Tom Walker thinks he is smarter than his customers and does not give more time to one of his customers to pay him back, Tom’s life ends in an instant. Through the use of satire Irving criticizes the institution of marriage and the folly of human nature.
Foremost, In Washington Irving's “The Devil and Tom Walker” demonstrates his motivation of greed by dealing with the devil. For example, “ let us get hold of the property,” said he, consolingly to himself, “and we will endeavor to do without the woman.”(P.234 Irving) This demonstrates how Tom jumped at the chance to deal with the devil after his wife died because he didn't want to makes wife happy and he didn't want to share the wealth with her. It shows how Tom walker doesn't like sharing things with anybody. Additionally, In “ Snow White
Tom Walker was on his way to his home in the big city of Boston, MA. He was headed home from a busy and stressful day of work. On his way, Tom started feeling reluctant about going home. He knew as soon as he had gotten home, his wife would start whining and complaining. Tom was miserable with his wife because all they did was fight and argue. Instead of going straight home, Tom decided to take a little detour. As he was driving, Tom noticed a path he’d never seen before, so he decided to go down the path. Once on the path, the sky suddenly turned dark. While Tom was driving, he came to a point on the path that was blocked by a tree. Tom got out of his car to remove the fallen tree from the path. Attempting to pick up the tree, Tom notices something carved into the bark. Hand-carved into the bark of the tree was the name “John”. Tom read the name multiple times in his head before coming to the conclusion that it was his co-worker. Suddenly there was a rustle in the bushes and out of the darkness Tom heard a voice.
Characters in stories sometimes follow a theme when it comes to their traits. These traits are called archetypes. Archetypes can be as simple as a villain or hero. They can also be used to portray unfathomable human characteristics that exists in everyone. Characteristics such as greed, lust, envy, pride, sloth, and gluttony are examples. In The Devil and Tom Walker the author portrays archetypes in the characters Tom Walker, Mrs. Walker, and the Devil.
In the Stephen King short story, The Man in The Black Suit, the narrator Gary recounts an experience from his childhood that scared him permanently. When he was nine, Gary was tormented and stalked though the woods by the devil, who manifested himself after Gary wandered into the woods. During their interaction, the Devil lies to Gary and says that his mother just died at home. The Devil claimed that Gary’s mother was killed in a similar way that his brother, Dan, was also killed not too long ago, as she was apparently stung by a bee and is dead in his kitchen. Gary knows the Devil is a liar but finds it difficult to resist believing him. He remarks to himself, “we always believe, on some level, the worst things our hearts can imagine”. The
“We want cattle who can finally become food; He wants servants who can finally become sons. We want to suck in, He wants to give out. We are empty and would be filled; He is full and flows over."-ScrewTape. In this quote, God, who Lewis names the The Enemy is characterized as a selfless, giving father. While Satan, “Our Father Below,” is a self-loving, deceitful father.
Nature was introduced in romantic novels and poems. In the poem ‘’Thanatopisis’’ by William Cullen Bryant he described death to something that was peaceful and to be embraced. He believed that you become one with nature, one with earth once you die. But in the poem ‘’Devil and Tom Walker’’ by Washington Irving he described death to be evil, sinful. He believed death to horrifying and something to not be embraced. Here are some examples of elements.
Stephen King’s “The man in the Black Suit” is his homage to Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown”. Stephen King believed that “Young Goodman Brown” is one of the ten best stories ever written by an American. “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne and “The Man in the Black Suit” by Stephen King have similar storylines, yet a different climax and resolution.
Washington Irving was the author of “The Devil and Tom Walker”, in his early life he began to study to be a lawyer, but soon falling away from that finding he had more interest in traveling and writing. Irving’s work including, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “Rip Van Winkle”, became known as an important part of American heritage today. The setting was in New England, the year 1727, just at the time that earthquakes were prevaled. Around the area of where Tom Walker had lived with his wife, Tom had found an old Indian fort which he chose to rest at on his way homeward. The main characters in “The Devil and Tom Walker” are obviously the Devil, “a great black man...neither Negro nor Indian” and Tom Walker who was a “miserly fellow”. Another
Tom Walker is the main character of the story, he is a hypocrite and works for the devil. Tom Walker has a wife who is greedy and is later tempted by the gold that was offered to him and ends up killed.
Why is one page dedicated to the devil and the opposite page to the heavenly city?