Money Over Life
Is money worth more than life? Does money buy eternal happiness? Some may disagree, but others like Tom Walker and his wife would have engaged in the love of money until they were proven wrong. As the story, “The Devil and Tom Walker” expresses that money only brings out the evil in everyone. Life is a valuable memory until wealth becomes worth more than life.
Most people spend their whole life trying to make a fortune, while doing this they often forget to live. Time is the most valuable aspect in life because once it is gone; it can never be retained again. Many people, especially Tom Walker, view life for the valuables in it and not much the love and time. The Devil offered Tom endless money for his soul, but once Tom
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told his wife the deal, her inner evil arose and took over her soul. Tom searched for his wife in hopes that he would get her silver, but once he found her dead with no silver he was more upset about the loss of money than his own wife. Not only does he not appreciate life, but he also lets coinage take control of his own life: The narrator of “The Devil and Tom Walker” is clear in his purpose: this is a cautionary tale, meant to wake up predators and usurers like Tom to the harms that their activities wreak on human society, and also to the dire consequences the greedy and misery face not only in this life but in the next (Wilson) Money may be able to buy the ideal house, but without a family occupying it the house is empty.
It may also buy the dream cars, but without somewhere to go the car is useless. Money may be able to fill all of the short-term needs that make people fulfilled, but in the end it will only leave the soul empty.
Some people are willing to sell their soul for money. Life has several meanings behind it, but some will never identify them. People live to find their purpose, but others only live for the containment of money. Currency is just a simple piece of paper that can be burned, ripped, or even thrown away. So why do people value money more than their life? That is a question maybe Tom Walker and his wife could answer. On another note, a soul is something that cannot be easily destroyed. People like Tom Walker and his wife would easily make the decision to trade their souls for the gift of money. In response to Tom’s wife’s actions, she was ripped apart and dead. The Devil eventually took Tim with him after he proved himself to be the greedy person he was. “The black man whisked him like a child into the saddle, gave the horse the lash, and away he galloped, with Tom on his back, in the midst of the thunderstorm” (Irving 14). No matter what kind of person someone is believed to be, they may have evil buried on the inside just waiting for the opportunity to
emerge. Money has the power to corrupt a soul. Currency is a simple way to destroy lives. It makes people say and think thoughts that are not normal. It makes people do evil acts out of the ordinary. Tom Walker was a man of evil thoughts and actions. ‘”Let us get hold of the property, “said he, consolingly to himself,” and we will endeavor to do without the woman’” (Irving 10). The Devil is usually understood as being the ‘’antagonist’’ of any story, but in this particular story Tom is more associated with the title of being the evil one. When Tom’s wife is announced to be greedy and in search for the treasure, she is persuaded to be another evil spirited character. In this story Tom was very rude and harmful to an innocent man that needed money and due to Tom’s actions the devil came to retrieve him. Out of all the occurrences in this short story, money is the interior of every problem. From examples out of the story and maybe even personal experiences, money brings out the evil in everyone. “The Devil and Tom Walker” is a tremendous source to apply the saying, “money is the root of all evil”. Some are willing to give up their souls just for materialistic and short-term happiness, but forget the whole meaning behind life. Is money worth more than life? Depending on the person, this is a question that can be argued in several different ways, Works Cited Irving, Washington. “The Devil and Tom Walker.” Great American Stories. Ausin: Holt, Rinehart, Winston, 1991. 3-15. Print. Wilson, Joshua. “The Devil and Tom Walker Themes: Story as Moral instruction.” “Litcharts.” Litcharts LLC, 3 Aug 2015. Web. 9 Mar 2017.
To this day, there are a lot of people that sell their souls to the devil. It all started a long time ago, when people sold their soul for money, beauty, long life, fame, power etc. In Washington Irving’s “The Devil and Tom Walker,” and the movie “Snow White and the Huntsman,” there are people that sell their soul to the devil, like Tom Walker and Queen Ravenna. In “The Devil and Tom Walker,” written by Washington Irving’s, Tom Walker gives his soul to the devil for greed. 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.”
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.
The theme of give your soul to the devil is very old. Most of the time someone would do this to get something very valuable to them. But a lot of the time it ends with someone losing all they have or losing someone they love. The characters in “The Devil and Tom Walker” and “Snow White and the Huntsman,” Were convinced to make a deal with “The Devil.”
This is an important example of the use of evil within "The Devil and Tome Walker". Walker is told from the devil that he could earn money through usury and extortion. Walker commits to usury and makes a generous sum of money. Walker has no repentance for such a sin and continues to his usury. The evil accumulates in the story as Walker accumulates more and more money, resulting from more and
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...
Another reason I believe Tom deserved his fate is because he didn't need to offer this soul, he could have said no to him and continue with his life. In any case, that was not the situation, Tom proceeded with his arrangement with the devil and he let his greed control his activities. Making a deal with the devil is like welcoming yourself to hell, “One would think that to meet with such a singular personage, in this wild, lonely place, would have shaken any man’s nerves; but Tom was a hard-minded fellow (Irving 325). As of now, Tom was plainly mindful of what he was getting into and later on the story he starts to regret his actions. Furthermore, Tom knew selling his soul to the devil would convey him to his end however he was desperately in need of wealth so he continued with his deal. If Tom had sold his soul for knowledge I would have not change my mind because the fact he sold his soul, is horrible as it is. Another reason why Tom deserves his fate is because he thought he would be save after he got rich. Making a deal with the devil is the worst thing ever because if you want to taking something you did bad back, you can not
Walker again faces the tempting offer the devil gives him, he takes it with little regard of the consequences. “Not a man to stick at trifles where money was in view.” The quote states how greedy he was, and he doesn’t care for anyone else but himself, he tricks people to for money. Tom rips people off by selling their property for more then he bought it for. Tom was consumed by greed, it affected him in the long term. It slowly changes his character throughout the story and made him miserable the rest of his
In Washington Irving’s short story, “The Devil and Tom Walker,” Tom revolves his life around his own selfish wants. Tom and his wife were not a right match for each other. The trouble in their relationship is they would seek out the others stash of treasures to take as their own. In their mind they cannot be happy with what they already have, but imbedded in each other is the need for more. Greed overshadows Tom’s inner conscience, and he goes to great lengths to satisfy his wants. On one ordinary day Tom decides to take a shortcut home, “Like most shortcuts, it was an ill chosen route. The swamp was thickly grown with great gloomy pines and hemlocks, some of them ninety feet high, which made it dark at noonday… (Irving 4).” Any typical human being would have enough common sense not to take a route through a dark, frightening swap. While resting in the swap, Tom met a strange “black man.” Tom’s wife fell into the trap many do, the idea of wealth caused her to fall into the hands of the devil. With his wife gone, he made a deal with the devil to open up a broker’s shop in order to ob...
Bernier, Lee. "Killing time without injuring eternity." : An Analysis of The Devil and Tom Walker by Washington Irving. Blogspot, n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2014. .
“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
Religion is a big one just because after they give their souls they want to believe and worship in god. They worship in god to protect them from the devil when they realize they didn't make the brightest decision. Some take til they get old but once you sold your soul there is no way you can get it back unless you buy it back. Deacon Peabody is one of them he is a man of god but is doing the devil's work on the low to stay known and wealthy but no one knows the truth about him. Persecuting Quakers and Anabaptists are the types of people Mr. Tom Walker was in church with he feels if he praises god as loud and goes to church with them that his goods will out way his wrongs. Will guess what. He was wrong again like I said earlier once you sold your soul you're not getting it back especially from the
It seems that money is the root of all evil and can make a man do things that he would
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.