Greed In The Devil And Tom Walker

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Greed can cause a person to focus on the less important things in life. This is a prominent theme in the short story “The Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving. Irving illustrates how awful Tom Walker treated others when he describes how he treats his horse, “He even set up a carriage in the fullness of his vain glory, though he nearly starved the horses which drew it; and as the ungreased wheels groaned and screeched on the axle trees, you would have thought you heard the sound of the poor debtors he was squeezing.” This quote shows how poorly he treated his horse, and how he did not care for his farm. The well-being of a living creature should take precedence over money, but Tom Walker was not focused on the important things in life.

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