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The value of narrative essay
The value of narrative essay
The devil and tom walker and the devil and daniel webster compare and contrast essay
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Things Aren’t Always What They Seem “The Devil and Daniel Webster” was a historical based narrative written in 1937 by Stephen Benet. This strong belief based story is about a young man who simply “runs” into some good luck. After angrily shouting a phrase “I vow it’s enough to make a man want to sell his soul to the devil! And I would too for two cents!”(Benet 2), a man appears, a sinister man who offers good old Jabez Stone a deal. Though the main character, Jabez Stone, tried to embrace his contract he can’t help but feel uneasy. Jabez’s uneasy feeling becomes more intense as his contract’s end date comes closer; finally Jabez decided to go to his last resort. An old fashioned New Hampshire man named Daniel Webster takes his case. Jabez Stone truly finds meanings in things aren’t what they seem. This story depicts that of a questionably mythical creature directly referred to as the Devil. Although it is not at first known the devil character, also known as Scratch, appears as a “soft spoken, well-dressed stranger” who “drove up in a handsome buggy”(Benet 2). Staying true to the theme, this mere peasant looking man is definitely not what he seems to be. Although it might seem odd for a well-dressed man to be …show more content…
It is told that any man who can beat satin in a fair fight’s power is stronger than that of Scratch. After Daniel Webster ensures the slumbering Jabez’s freedom, he knows that this adversary has been beaten. For the greater good Daniel Webster reasons his greater power over the stranger. Daniel demands that Scratch never again returns to the region to claim more hopeless souls. “Ouch! Well, they never did run very big to the barrel, but –ouch! – I agree” (Benet 12). It seems that the being of this evil creature is not just a man who claims souls but also just a man. Without his power Scratch is somebody who cannot use evil to win over an opponent. Scratch was really just a
On the contrary, the turning points to both the stories are a little different from one another because Tom loses to the devil and the devil took him away. On the other hand, Jabes Won with the help of the lawyer named Daniel Webster against his opponent and the devil was banished also to never come near Jabez and his family ever again. Furthermore, “The Devil and Tom Walker” illustrate that the devil is dark-skinned, red eyes, red sash and with an axe, while “The Devil and Daniel Webster”, the devil actually looked decent , with nice suit and gentlemen.
Chicago, one of the most popular cities in America. Visits from families all around the country, what makes this place so great? Is it the skyscrapers that protrude the sky? Or is it the weather people loved? Does Chicago being the second most favored city in America show that this town has some greatness? In the nonfiction novel The Devil in the White City, Erik Larson uses imagery, tone, and figurative language to portray the dreamlike qualities of Chicago and the beauty that lies within this city.
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...
The Devil and Daniel Webster Movie In the movie and the short story, "The Devil and Daniel Webster", written by Stephen Vincent Benet, there is illustrated the battle between the forces of good and evil. Although the story allows the reader to mentally picture the scenes and the movie does the depicting for the viewer, there are several similarities in each script. Some of these similarities are the way the characters are depicted and the final scene. There are several incongruous scenes between the short story and the way the movie unfolds. The differences are the amount of time that is spent on the character development, also there are some scenes added into the movie such as the harvest dance and the reminder of the contract. There are three main characters in this short story/movie. They are Scratch, Daniel Webster, and Jabez Stone. The actors picked for the roles fit almost perfectly to the descriptions of the characters in the short story. Scratch is described as a " soft-spoken, dark-dressed stranger…white teeth...were filed to a point". As shown in the movie the actor was also a very darkly clad man. He also had a very soft, hypnotic voice and whenever he smiled his teeth were very shiny and pointy. The man described as "the biggest man in the country…when he stood up to speak, stars and stripes came right out of the sky…and when he argued a case, he could turn on the harps of the blessed and the shaking of the earth unde...
How would one feel if one came face to face with the Devil himself? Would one run away screaming or would one let the Devil change their views of the world? Gary and Goodman Brown both had different experiences with the Devil resulting in some of the best works of fiction ever wrote. Gary met the Devil as a young boy who feared him unrelentingly, but Goodman Brown talked to the Devil and let the Devil change his life and the viewpoints of people he knows. I plan to discuss on how Gary, from the short story “The Man in the Black Suit”, and Goodman Brown, from “Young Goodman Brown”, dealt with the Devil and compare their encounters together.
The book, The Devil in the White City, takes place during the late nineteenth century. During that time, the total picture of the late nineteenth - century America that emerges from The Devil in the White City is very different than now.
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.
The next character is the man who Brown meets up with in the woods. This man is described as, "one who knew the world, and who would not have felt abashed at the governor's dinner table or in King William's court" (Kelly, 191). This man can be seen as the devil. He possesses features that illustrate him as the devil. For example his walking staff is described as having "the likeness of a great black snake, so curiously wrought that it might almost be seen to twist and wriggle itself like a living serpent" (Kelly, 191-192).
As humans, we go through life’s obstacles and find ourselves lost in these obstacles. Many times one is approached by friends, family and sometimes strangers. As they become aware of your circumstances and obstacles they attempt to give you advice by sharing their beliefs. Similarly, in literature, a devil character appears during a crisis or weak moment's in the protagonist's life to challenge, guide, bring out qualities and thoughts that already live within the protagonist. Although the devil character can be perceived as evil and devious, the devil character has the ability to test the protagonist in order to put the character in contact with something already existent within them.
Irving, Washington. “The Devil and Tom Walker”. Elements of Literature: Fifth Course. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2008. 175-185. Print.
The early seventeenth century audience did not need a description of the devil like the twentieth century audience does. The Middle Ages had accustomed people to viewing the devil as a hideous, disgustingly ugly and frightening creature. The renaissance was a revolution in terms of imagery. The devil became more hu...
The Devil and Miss Prym is a novel of temptation and personal growth. A man known as the Devil approaches the small village of Viscos and exposes them to a horrible idea of evil versus good. The Devil states he is on a quest to discover if there is mostly good or evil in the world and he needs the villagers to help him complete his experiment. Miss Prym, or Chantal, is the main victim of the Devil’s plan and must make several difficult decisions to rectify the situation. After much struggle, the