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The devil and tom walker and the devil and daniel webster compare and contrast essay
The devil and tom walker and the devil and daniel webster compare and contrast essay
The devil and tom walker and the devil and daniel webster compare and contrast essay
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Compare and Contrast Essay
In the Stories, “The Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving and “The Devil and Daniel Webster” by Stephen Vincent Benet there are many similarities and also many differences. For Example, the characters, the families, and the devil. In the end, one story turns out completely opposite from the other.
Comparing Jabez Stone and Tom Walker, in both “The Devil and Tom Walker”, and “ The Devil and Daniel Webster”, sell their soul to the devil. Also, the setting is in the Northeast. Although, in the “The Devil and Tom Walker”, Tom’s deal last his whole life, when Jabez Stone’s only last 7 years with a 3 year extension.
Comparing the families, in both the stories the men are both married. However, Jabez Stone and
his wife are happily married with a child. Unlike Tom Walker who has a horrible relationship with his wife. He didn’t have any love for her and was happy that she had went out and tried to get the deal and died. Lastly, comparing the two devils, in both stories they are pretty much centered around the devil, which in both stories called “Old Scratch”, and both guys sold their soul to the devil. However, in the “Devil and Tom Walker”, the devil was a tall, dark figure who was a black woodsman, covered in soot, and would appear out of nowhere. But in the story, “The Devil and Daniel Webster”, the devil was a white man, who was a lawyer, dressed in a suit, with bright white teeth pointed like a vampire. In conclusion, both stories are alike but they are also extremely different in many way, as described above. In the end, Tom Walker had regretted selling his soul and tried to turn his life around and tries the change how his life will end up. The devil didn’t like the fact he was trying to break their deal, so he came for him and everything turned into dust. However, Jabez Stone and Daniel Webster defeated the powerless devil. They went to trial and won and Jabez Stone was rid of all debts.
In conclusion, Tom and Jabez are two different people but their stories creates similar themes. Those are the unique ways of how they relate to each other including how they dealt with the two
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.
Perhaps in both stories the role of the devil, whether truly present in the plot or only mentioned as figure of evil, is very central to portraying the Puritans. In “The Devil and Tom Walker,” the devil is simply a large man covered in soot. Irving describes him as, “a great black man” and “his face was neither black nor copper color, but swarthy and dingy, and begrimed in soot (Irving, 179).” Most Puritans would believe the devil is a fiery, red, horned man with a pointed tell and trident, but this is not the case. The devil is further established when he himself states, “I amuse myself by presiding at the persecutions of Quakers and Anabaptists; I am the great patron and prompter of slave dealers…(Irving, 180).
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
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.
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
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...
The play "The Devil and Daniel Webster" was written by Stephen Vincent Benét in 1938. Stephen Vincent Benét was born in 1898 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. His education came from Yale University and the Sorbonne in Paris, France. "The Devil and Daniel Webster" has a wide array of characters, each with a distinguished personality, yet an overall temperment that would be fitting of a New England community. The main character is Jabez Stone, a wealthy New England statesman whose possition was the state senator of New Hampshire. He had started out as a farmer though, but moved up in life and, when he was about thirty years of age, married the fair woman, Mary Stone- who was in her early twenties.
Striking similarities between a duo of novels are not unusual. The novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelly, deals with a scientist named Victor Frankenstein who embodies a creature, who eventually wreaks havoc on his life. The novel Lost Paradise, by John Milton, exposes the cruelty of Christianity or the Christian God within the characters God, Satan, Adam, and Eve. Victor Frankenstein and God have many similarities, as they are both creators of incarnations. Victor's creature known as the monster shows striking similarities with Satan and Adam. Characters from different novels have similar personalities.
Irving, Washington. “The Devil and Tom Walker”. Elements of Literature: Fifth Course. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2008. 175-185. Print.
Another contribution to the story is the human relationships, that take place between both of the main characters. These character relationships are completely different. The narrator has many problems with her mother, and her best friend. The main conflicts that take place between both of the stories...
The battle between what is right and wrong is a classic struggle that has existed from the beginning of time. The most honorable people face the crossroad of choosing either the angel’s path or the devil’s; one path leads to an honest yet difficult life while the other is an easy and selfish one. Throughout history, women have been portrayed as the reason of Man’s downfall. The male dominated world has created stereotypes to blame females for their defeats due to ignorance. Leo Tolstoy’s “The Devil” explores the dichotomy of the objectification of women as the angel and the devil.
Two brothers created these two amazing but puzzling stories. Although they share the same concept, they differ in characters and plot development. They both have different ways to approach to its climax. While one of them is a film the other one is a short story. So, let’s take a look inside and describe each approach to the plot and see the differences of each character.