Despite the evidence that Washington Irving uses to show his love for America in his stories, he portrays some characters in the Devil and Tom Walker and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow as greedy. Irving shows concern for America by placing stories in uniquely American moments. In this essay I will prove through passages and quotes from Irving's stories that he shows his love for America in his stories and portrays some characters as greedy in the two stories. The historical settings of these stories is made apparent by the use of elements common to the revolutionary era. In The Devil and Tom Walker when Irving is describing the setting he gives an impression that it took place in America. In describing the setting he says, "It had been the stronghold of the Indians during their war with the colonists." Since the war took place in America this is one evidence of his love for America. Another is when Irving is describing the devil and he makes the point that he a particularly American devil. When the devil first meets Tom and the devil is telling him about himself he says, "I amuse myself by presiding at the persecutions of Quakers and Anabaptists; I am the great patron and prompter of slave dealers and the grandmaster of the Salem witches." In The Legend of Sleepy Hollow there are many American traits in the description of the setting. It is said by some to be the ghost of a Hessian trooper, whose head had been carried away by a...
The Salem witch craft trials are the most learned about and notable of Europe's and North America's witch hunts. Its notoriety and fame comes from the horrendous amount of people that were not only involved, but killed in the witch hunt and that it took place in the late 1700's being one of the last of all witch hunts. The witch craft crises blew out of control for several reasons. Firstly, Salem town was facing hard economic times along with disease and famine making it plausible that the only explanation of the town's despoilment was because of witches and the devil. As well, with the stimulation of the idea of witch's from specific constituents of the town and adolescent boredom the idea of causing entertainment among the town was an ever intriguing way of passing time.
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.
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
"The Devil and Tom Walker" is a short story by Washington Irving that many wonder about. It teaches a lesson and has many archetypes in the characters. In literature, an archetype is a typical character, a type of action, or a situation that leads to the representation of such universal patterns of human nature. An archetype may be a character, a theme, a symbol or it can even be a setting. Tom walker is the protagonist of the story he is the main character.
Throughout Irving’s story, he used characterization, irony, the dreams, and other literacy devices to bring The Legend of Sleepy Hollow to life for Irving’s audience.
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
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...
Writers have a way to make society take a double look at themselves and what is going on in life or even in nature is compared. It’s actually called satire it’s the use of humor, irony, it criticizes people’s stupidity or vices. “The Devil and Tom Walker” is written by Washington Irving. In his story, he uses satire to criticize the people and the actions they have taken among themselves in the 1720’s that lived in Boston.
The original story by Washington Irving starts out in a small town of Sleepy Hollow. Irving paints an image of bountiful crops, beautiful scenery, and prosperous landowners. Ichabod Crane was a local pedagogue, who taught at the local schoolhouse. He was known for his strict ways and yet he was very popular amongst the families of his students- especially the ones who had ?pretty sisters.? Ichabod enjoyed spending fall evenings with the old widows as they sat by a fire and told stories of ghosts and demons and other supernatural beings. One story that was always told was one of the legendary Headless Horsemen. The tale tells of a soldier who had his head shot off with a cannon ball. His ghost now roamed Sleepy Hollow on his horse, looking for his lost head. In place of his head, sits a jack-o-lantern, which had a fiery glow.
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 Devil and Tom Walker" Irving plots the setting in a way that makes it so frightening and telling . From the beginning of the story the reader is put into the atmosphere that foreshadows the events :Destruction of great things, death and black times, a wood with high trees, mysterious places, frightening people, an atmosphere that suits very much the evil to occur . Irving borrows events from the German legend of Faust and applies it on the American frontier society .He goes deeply into imagining a relation between the Devil and Tom walker that takes Tom from his human characteristics, giving him the power that is against his nature in the first place. Taking such action which in itself is against nature, Tom had to pay back his bill for the fault he committed . Being Romantic, Irving associates modernization with Evil. Before even mentioning Tom and his story, Irving talks about earthquakes/nature that revenges from Buildings/modernization, which is the second face of man/natu...
Irving Washington. "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Nina Baym. 5th ed. Vol. 1. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1998. 948-69.
The Devil and Tom Walker contain many themes and lessons slightly concealed in a poetic and partially metaphorical way. It is a timeless tale that can be applied to any generation while never losing its message.It is about greed, curiosity, desperation, growth, regret, and ultimately consequence.
Author’s Sylvia Warner and Washington Irving convey the striking theme in “The Phoenix” and ‘The Devil and Tom Walker” grasping the reader's attention while portraying greed throughout the pieces. Warner and Irving convey the same theme, but their pieces differentiate due to the deeper meaning hidden underneath the text. The authors deliver the message that while greed causes pain in others, consequently, the person who is most harmed in the end is the individual themselves. The theme of greed, portrayed through the corruption of the mind, is present in both of these pieces. The flesh-eating inhumanity that developed within character’s hearts creates the theme of greed