The short story “The devil and Tom Walker '' by Washington Irving represents the beliefs of the Dark Romanticism movement. In the story Tom has a strong ego and he makes decisions that he later regrets. Tom bargains with the devil to gain wealth; however, when he later regrets his decision, he becomes a violent church-goer. In the end, though, Tom is unable to fix his mistakes. Irving's story illustrates three major tenets of Dark Romanticism which includes the presence of the supernatural, the belief that nature is dark and evil, and the belief that individuals are prone to sin. The presence of the supernatural is heavily represented in Irving's story. The swamp where Tom meets the Devil is described as a place where “The savages held incantations …show more content…
One day as Tom walks home, he comes upon a swamp area that is “Thickly grown with great, gloomy pines and hemlocks” (Irving). Nature is portrayed as dark because the swap is overgrown with big trees creating a dark and creepy atmosphere that can be dangerous for the traveler. The word gloom is used to create an ominous mood.
The story also portrays the belief that individuals are prone to sin and self-destruction. Humans may fail in their attempts to fix their mistakes. Tom Walker regrets his decision and tries to amend with the devil by turning to God. Irving writes “He had left his little bible at the bottom of the coat-pocket” (Irving). The quote illustrates that when he made a mistake he turned to religion to try and fix it, but he ends up dying. Tom Walker could not fix his mistake and paid the ultimate price. Irving's story conveys the three major tenets of Dark Romanticism: the presence of the supernatural, the belief that nature is dark and evil, and the belief that individuals are prone to sin. Overall, Dark Romanticism focuses on the dark side of nature and humans. The author's purpose of the story is that humans can be greedy and self-centered, and when we regret our choices, we cannot always come back. One may end up worse off than
Tom is regretting his decision to sell his soul, but he was already to far into temptation and too far in with the devil that there was nothing for him to do to get away from the devil. Based on
The Devil and Tom Walker The Devil and Tom Walker is a short story that was written by Washington Irving depicting Tom Walkers greed. Near a swamp in the 1700’s, lived a grumpy man named Tom Walker and his wife, who was also a grumpy hag. They were both greedy, so greedy that they would even try to trick and cheat each other. All they did was argue and bicker about money and wealth.
Everyone imagines how a deal with the Devil will play out in their head at least once in their life. In several short stories, it is very noticeable the way the authors put little twists into their story as they describe their own version of how a deal with the Devil would play out. Through the use of imagery in Stephen Vincent Benet’s “The Devil and Daniel Webster” and Washington Irving’s “The Devil and Tom Walker,” the authors show how the Devil takes in the men and changes them slowly, revealing the way people change. Stephen Vincent Benet is a very successful author in the Modernism Era. Modernism was a movement toward modifying traditional beliefs in accordance with modern ideas, especially in the Roman Catholic Church in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, according to merriam-webster.com.
Tom and his wife are so “miserly” that they feel like they are lacking something at all times, they “conspired to cheat each other” out of things people would consider “common property”(2). This illustrates a very greedy and unhappy marriage, as their actions, fueled by greed and selfishness, interfere with their ability to live happily. The only times Tom ever seems to be happy is when money is involved, and even then its not complete happiness. The first time he experienced happiness came after his wife disappeared into the swamp when in search for the devil, whom Tom had met the previous afternoon. Tom went out looking for her, as he was worried for her safety, “especially [when] he found she had carried off in her apron the silver...and every portable article of value”(8).
Tom Walker is a great example of someone who ruined their life with the bad choices he made just for material things. This specific story, the consequence of choosing greed ruined Tom's life and his legacy. The devil approached Tom twice with the same offer of wealth and fortune. The first time
“Devil And Tom Walker” Washington Irving shows how idolization of materialization and greed can manipulate a person’s life by showing the consequences of the decisions in “Devil and Tom Walker”. He allows the the greed to control his life, ending in his ultimate destruction. Irving’s use of imagery and symbolism help to convey the true meaning of the story to the reader. Irving used Tom’s journey through the swamp in a symbolic way. The swamp showed how people take shortcuts in life.
The Devil and Tom Walker Written by Washington Irving, Tom goes through life hard, but cheats his way to the top. As you read you notice the choices he makes and why he does them. When Tom continues to make bad decisions he starts to regret them. In this short story Tom illustrates three major thematic threads throughout the story, He exemplifies Greed, Temptation, and Hypocrisy. The first theme Tom illustrates is Greed.
The selling of one’s soul to the devil is caused by one’s goal to obtain something of great value like, fame, fortune and power. Which leads one to getting hurt or losing everything. The story and the movie had various motivations, by dealing with the consequences. Foremost, In Washington Irving's “The Devil and Tom Walker” demonstrates his motivation of greed by dealing with the devil.
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.
Earlier when he got the idea his "smile stretched like a weary snake waking up by a fire. " The snake simile suggests the devil and evil acts, as opposed to his chance at salvation. He will choose to listen to this devil as he abandons Lucynell, an angel of Gawd, at The Hot Spot. Throughout the story Tom had showed some good in him but ultimately he was evil. He was only looking to his own advantage and did whatever he felt the need to to get there.
He was tormented by society because of his actions from his past, towards a child. This, as well as the death of his friend, made Tom suffer severely. Tom, had lots of faith in God, which he though should have helped save his friend. Once Tom lost faith, he agonised and was doubtful of almost everything. This torment can be seen through the simile, “Tom is like the dark interior of a house”, as Tom is looked upon by society as bad and as a madman, going crazy from his past.
The Romantics wanted to create a sense of identity for Americans, often by exploring topics that had previously been avoided, such as human nature. In Washington Irving’s Dark Romantic short story, The Devil and Tom Walker Irving shows the five points of Romanticism; including focus on emotion, nature, youth, imagination and people themselves. During his unhappy marriage, Tom Walker decides to take a stroll through the woods where he meets the Devil who, in turn, offers to buy the man’s soul. Irving writes, “However Tom might have felt disposed to sell himself to the devil, he was determined not to do so to oblige his wife; so he flatly refused, out of the mere spirit of contradiction… Tom was not to be damned to please her” (Irving 295).
Washington Irving, an 18th century author, wrote a short story based on the legend of Faust which he named “The Devil and Tom Walker”. In “The Devil and Tom Walker” Washington Irving uses imagery to establish mood. First, when Tom Walker takes a shortcut home through a swamp, Irving describes the swamp as follows “The swamp was was thickly grown with great gloomy pines and hemlocks, some of them ninety feet high, which made it dark at noonday, and a retreat for all the owls of the neighborhood. It was full of pits and quagmires, partly covered with weeds and mosses, where the green surface often betrayed the traveler into a gulf of black, smothering mud; there were also dark and stagnant pools, the abodes of the tadpole, the bullfrog, and the watersnake; where the trunks of pines and hemlocks lay half-drowned, half-rotting, looking like alligators sleeping in the mire.
In this story, the main character, Tom Walker, makes a deal with the devil, selling his soul in exchange for becoming a usurer. Later on, this leads to many other repercussions, such as remorse and the passing of his wife. Irving’s story, "The Devil and Tom Walker," utilizes language, imagery, and characterization
“The Monsterous Hero” Frankenstein by Mary Shelley shattered the mold of typical horror novels written during the Romantic period and revolutionized the next generation of horror writers. Shelley’s unique use of Romantic elements such as supernatural components, dualism, spontaneous creation, individual thought, and innocence illuminate important aspects that help determine the romantic hero. Specifically, a romantic hero is identified as one that opposes established standards, faces rejection by society, and is the center of his own existence. Although Victor and Walton both have some characteristics of a romantic hero, the monster is the ideal romantic hero.