In Stephen Vincent Benet's fictional story " The Devil and Daniel Webster," Jabez Stone was an unlucky man sells his soul to the devil for the desperate need to provide for his family. However, in the fictional story "The Devil and Tom Walker," written by Washington Irving, Tom made a deal with the Devil out of greed. Yet, both "The Devil and Daniel Webster" and "The Devil and Tom Walker" were influenced by social values, which did not change drastically over the one hundred thirteen year time gap. Essentially, both of these stories teach lessons in which a deal with the Devil leads to serious consequences, either in death or in near death experiences. In Washington Irving's "The Devil and Tom Walker," Walker is motivated by greed and money to succeed in life, which was influenced by ethical, social, and cultural impacts of the New Englanders along with their attitudes in the early eighteenth century. Essentially, Tom Walker was selling his soul to the Devil for experience, knowledge, and treasure to be at the level of the wealthy. New Englanders at the time were so driven towards money, land, and power that they would do anything to get their hands on it. Some whites would …show more content…
even "sell" themselves into slavery, indentured servants were so desperate for money they worked in plantations just as the slaves would for several years for money or property. Therefore, when Tom made a deal with the Devil, it was nothing but a social influence. The Devil insisted Tom " employ it in the black traffic; that is to say, he should fit out a slave ship." However, Tom refused because of his guilty conscience, bad enough the Devil couldn't tempt him turn slave-trader. He did indeed accept the money for money hungry reasons, but was not that foolish or inhumane to do such a thing. Yet Tom was very wise when it came to making profitable income, essentially increasing his fortunes. Tom was known as "the universal friend of the needy, and acted like a friend in need." Walker knew people were determined to get their hands on money for whatever the reason, so he used the cultural hype to his advantage. Throughout the fictional story, Tom Walker tends to mature and change his morals after realizing all he has done, but it was too late to save his soul from the Devil. Indicating that New Englanders do in fact grow out of the money greed phase and progress to be less selfish with age. Washington Irving illustrates the "American Dream" for New Englanders in the early 1700s to be perceived as money is everything, if one does not have money, you can not be considered successful in life. Which began with influences of their upbringings, culture, and moral impact from their environment. The fictional story "The Devil and Daniel Webster," written by Stephen Vincent Benet, the main character Jabez Stone auctions his soul to the Devil in order to afford stable living conditions for his family. The moral of the story is essentially to never make an emotional decision and act on grief. Indicating, when hitting rock bottom make a wise decision that will not cause harm in the long run or make one feel the sense of regret. "There were two children down with the measles, his wife was ailing, and he had a whitlow on his thumb." said Benet. As one can understand, Jabez Stone was in a state where the only option that was clear to him was to help his family no matter what the consequences were, but he made the foolish mistake of acting impulsively. On the other hand, being a farmer with minimal education he had no choice but to sell his soul to the Devil. Therefore, verifying that he did not intend to use the money for his benefit or to make profit, but to maintain his family. Eventually, Stone does has to deal with the consequences of his actions, but is trailed and won his case thanks to his lawyer, Daniel Webster. However, if Stone did not win the case he could have been killed and essentially have died for his family. Stone indeed learned his lesson, but in a sense could not be characterized as stupid or carless for making such a decision, as anyone would do anything for their family. The fictional stories both indeed tell morals that contain similarities and differences, but the reasoning for their actions are completely different.
The moral of the fictional story "The Devil and Tom Walker," written by Washington Irving is not to base success in life as how much money you make. Considering Tom Walker was "looking" for money and money was his thought of the "American Dream." Where as in "The Devil and Daniel Webster," by Stephen Vincent Benet the moral is to make decisions based on thought, not emotion. Due to Jebez Stone selling his soul for the better of his family, not thinking of the consequences after the deal. Both stories differentiate in a sense that Tom Walker did not need money, he wanted money and Jabez Stone was in fact desperate to
survive.
Tom Walker’s devil is a dark-skinned man with red eyes, red sash, and an axe. Tom was a malicious, greedy person who dealt with the devil in order to gain some wealth. He and his wife would fight constantly day after day. Tom was not a wealthy person
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
In Washington Irving’s story, The Devil and Tom Walker, Irving uses his imagination to convey his thoughts about the truth of life through symbols and characterization. In one specific instance in the story, the main character, Tom Walker, is walking home and “he took what he considered a shortcut homeward, through the swamp. Like most shortcuts, it was an ill-chosen route.” The path being “thickly grown with great gloomy pines” symbolizes the path of wrongdoings, bad decisions, and darkness. By taking this path, one then strays off the path of
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.
Good and Evil in The Devil and Tom Walker The concept of evil in the short story "The Devil and Tom Walker" can be shown in many ways, by Irvings' symbolism. In the short story, Tom Walker symbolizes all of mankind by portraying him as being "sinful" and evil. When there is an intent to destroy, then we get a different level of hatred.
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...
I must say that Tom Walker truly deserves what happened to him. In Tom’s mind he believed happiness in life can only come by money and wealth. During this time, life was not doing too well for Tom, in any case, he does deserve his fate. I truly believe he deserved what happened to him because Tom had made an agreement with the devil for some wealth in return. Also while making the arrangement the DEVIL had agreed to give him money "only on certain conditions" (Irving 325). To protect himself from all the consequences of the devil, Tom carries a bible around him at all times as a shield from the devil. Making an arrangement with the devil was the most awful choice Tom had made. In addition, selling your soul to the devil will make you have nothing
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.
In the story “Young Goodman Brown”, the devil is convincing Goodman Brown to come attend the devil’s party in the forest by using pathos and ethos. The devil first uses pathos by narrating his relationship with Brown’s father and grandfather, who are devout puritans. He makes up the experience of helping Brown’s forefathers lash the Quaker woman and fight with the Indians in King Philip’s War in order to associate himself with the Puritan values of being pious to god and contributing to social welfare. Additionally, by flattering Brown’s ancestry’s contributions, the devil emotionally pleased Brown and letting Brown to believe that the devil is a kind and devout old man just like his grandfather. Besides that, the devil also uses ethos by asserting
“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.
Irving, Washington. “The Devil and Tom Walker”. Elements of Literature: Fifth Course. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2008. 175-185. Print.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story Young Goodman Brown, the devil uses pathos and ethos to convince Goodman Brown to give in to his evil side. The devil states his position as the leader of the worshiping assembly and convinces the people in the meeting into believing that evil is human nature and it has to be the only happiness of men. Then, he brainwashes the people, taking advantage of their religious piety, and turns them to their dark sides. The inner darkness of people was revealed and Goodman Brown realized that what seems good on the outside may not be the same on the inside, which is what Hawthorne was trying to convey to his audience.