The Romantic Age was a period in history in which writers focused more on individualism and emotion rather than logic and reasoning. Often, Romantic stories show a wariness of civilized life and may contain a larger-than-life hero or passion-driven villain. Literature works in this age spurned traditions of every day life and praised the ideas of imagination unlike the previous ages such as the Age of Enlightenment and Puritan Age where poems and essays centered around political patriotism and the importance of God. The works of writers such as James Fenimore Cooper, Edgar Allan Poe, and Washington Irving all encompass these key components of Romanticism in their writings.
In "The Devil and Tom Walker" by Washington Irving, the title itself shows a romantic characteristic. Tom Walker is portrayed as a non-religious man who takes part in supernatural events such as selling his soul to the devil for wealth. Emphasis is placed on his individual greed and self-worth. Tom is more worried about earning money than the fact that his wife had been killed by the devil. The only role religion plays in the story is when Tom began going back to church only out of fear of the devil, not because God was an important part
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of his life. Another example of a Romantic Age work is the poem "Annabel Lee" by Edgar Allan Poe.
This poem exemplifies the idea that an individual's feelings were more important than traditions of religion and society. Poe explains his belief that the Angels conspired to kill Annabel Lee out of jealousy for how strong Poe's love was for her. Any Christian would know this does not follow traditional belief of the religion, because angels would never act in this manner. The idea that feeling and emotions are valued more than logic and reason also represent characteristics of this age. After the loss of his lover, Poe explains how he sees the bright eyes of Annabel Lee in the stars of the sky. As a romantic, the author allows his imagination to take over his
emotion. In the film The Last of the Mohicans based on the novel by James Fenimore Cooper, the main character Hawkeye reveals his ironic distrust of civility through his relationship with the Native Americans. He is a white man raised by the Mohican Indians who have taught him to value the beauty of nature. Hawkeye becomes interested in Cora, the daughter of the British Colonel Munro, and the two characters fall in love. At the end of the film, Hawkeye offers himself as sacrifice to the Hurons so that he could save Cora and her sister, Alice. This is an example of Hawkeye allowing his emotions to flood his judgment rather than using reason and intellect. Magua, a revenge-seeking Huron Indian, pretended to side with the British during the war; however, his true intention was to hurt Colonel Munro by murdering his daughters, Cora and Alice. Magua blames the Colonel for taking him away from his wife and children, causing his wife to remarry. He feels as though he should reciprocate his pain of loss by taking the Colonel's children away from him, making Magua a passion-driven villain. Obvious differences are apparent in comparing the Age of Romanticism and the preceding ages before it. Authors such as Irving, Poe, and Cooper strived to make their stories stand out among other writers. They used excessive emotion and imagination to show readers of their time something they had never been exposed to before.
In “The Devil and Tom Walker,” written by Washington Irving’s, Tom Walker gives his soul to the devil for greediest. For example, in the story, it was said, “He accumulated bonds and mortgages, gradually squeezed his customers closer and closer and sent them at length, dry as a sponge, from his door.” This shows how greedy and selfish he was for not caring about what anyone else feels,
Romanticism is an essential part of the early forms of American literature. Romantic’s, who value feelings and intuition as opposed to reason, seek to reveal higher truths through their writings. One way to reveal these truths is by the use imagination, as Washington Irving and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow do. Through the utilization of imagination, Washington Irving and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow reveal distinct truths about life.
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.
"About the year 1727, just at the time when earthquakes were prevalent in New England, and shook many tall sinners down upon their knees, there lived near this place a meager miserly fellow of the name of Tom Walker." (Irving) “The Devil and Tom Walker” is a short story written by Washington Irving in about 1824. The story is about a man who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for Pirate Kidd’s hidden treasure. The man, named Tom Walker, is a greedy, selfish man who thinks money is more important than his wife. “The Devil and Tom Walker” is the best short story example of Romanticism. The story uses escapism, nature as a form of spirituality, and imagination, which are all tenets of Romanticism.
We see that good vs. evil has been a theme that is ubiquitous in many writings. The story "The Devil and Tom Walker" is a story about a man who lives an immoral life of greed. Walker lives in a wooded area, where it is solemn, and quiet area of New England. Walker runs into the devil and sees that the devil is cutting down someone else's timber.
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...
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.
“The Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving tells of a greedy man and his even greedier wife. Shortly into the story, Tom’s wife is killed by the Devil himself because she was far too greedy. Later, Tom makes a deal with the Devil and gets the life he always wanted. Obviously, there was a catch, and Tom had to constantly hinder the livelihood of others. Towards the end of his life he finally begins to see the cost and consequences of his choices in life, “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” but it was too late. His life was that of the Devil’s now, and the Devil made sure to collect. This story depicts humankind as being greedy and
In the book of “The Devil and Tom Walker” marriage was where the most struggle lies.
Mr. Walker, known for greed through tout the town of Charles Bay , leads him to sell his soul to the devil in exchange for insignificant items. Mr. Walker exemplifies laziness , though he wants as many materialistic things,he is unmotivated to work for it. As said in the text,"Tom consoled himself for the loss of his property, with the loss of his wife, for he was a man of fortitude. He even felt gratitude toward the black woodsman, who, he considered, had done him a kindness,” this quote displays Tom’s twisted values, placing materialistic things above his wife exceedingly. Tom despises her to an extent to where
From the early 18th century through to the beginnings of the Civil War, a literary movement known as Romanticism emerged as the main style of writing in America. Characterized by a religious response to nature, self-interest, and a fascination with the supernatural, Romanticism replaced the Enlightenment period writing style, inspiring an idealistic attitude among people. Washington Irving, an influential author of the Romantic period, wrote “The Devil and Tom Walker”, a story whose characters and descriptions embody the qualities of Romanticism. After selling his soul to the devil, Tom Walker spends the rest of his life making a fortune for himself while cheating innocent people out of their assets.
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.
Written during the American Romanticism period, “The Devil and Tom Walker,” by William Irving, personifies the belief in the primacy of imagination. The period of Romanticism in America is often seen as the crucial period of American culture, as it was the central movement of the Renaissance period that moved into a more free-feeling and artistic approach to literature. American Gothic literature made its early appearance with William Irving, first with “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” in 1820, and carrying over to “The Devil and Tom Walker” in 1824, both of which use a macabre approach to establish a moral ending (Matterson). Told by a narrator known as Geoffrey Crayon, “The Devil and Tom Walker” takes on the tone of a legend or tall tale as the story describes the life of a greedy money lender by the name of Tom Walker, who sells his soul to the devil to gain wealth. Irving ultimately uses literary elements such as symbolism and character development, as well as themes such as greed and hypocrisy to establish a moral to the corrupt man’s tale.
Poems have really intricate meanings that can be portrayed in many different ways. They can be used to express feelings and emotions towards someone or something. Poems can be about love, hate, nature, or anything in particular. The poem “Annabel Lee,” by Edgar Allan Poe is a romantic poem, written during the Romanticism period. The poem is about the narrator, a young man, who is dealing with the tragic loss of his fair maiden, whom he fell in love with at a young age. The love between the couple is described as very childlike and innocent. Their love for each other is extremely passionate, for that reason, the angels became jealous and killed Annabel Lee. Although his wife passed away, the narrator does not want to give up on their love and
The explication was an opinion thought and also details about this poem. I found out that poems have a lot of meanings once you annotate it and break it down. “Annabel Lee” was an interesting poem that had brought out my attention. Although poems are not one of my biggest things to read or do, I enjoyed “Annabel Lee” by Edgar Allan Poe.