The Devil And Tom Walker Archetypes

What is the Tower of Babel? Besides being a big, old building, it is a symbol of the consequence of pride. The plan was to build a tower that could reach the heavens in order to “make a name for ourselves”, but God had different plans. He “scattered them” and “confused the language of the whole world” (Genesis 11). This story is just one of many in the Bible discussing the why the vice pride is regarded as the worst of the Seven Deadly Sins. Both Washington Irving’s “The Devil and Tom Walker” and Herman Melville’s Moby Dick (“The Chase”) contain this theme, and thus provide insight on the disastrous results of pride.

Although both The Devil and Tom Walker and Young Goodman Brown address the idea of sinning, Irving uses allusions and Biblical references and Hawthorne uses Foreshadowing and Imagery to express their theme of, no one is perfect, and that it is in human nature to sin.

Tom Walked and Daniel Webster both made a very secure deal with a very evil person; the devil. The devil promised them both riches, and fame, and everything they ever wanted, if they let the devil have all possession of their souls. After some very short thinking, they both agreed to it, and they sold their souls to the devil. Just a little later, both men came to the conclusion that selling their souls wasn’t as ideal as the devil made it seem.

The author of “The Devil and Tom Walker”, Washington Irving, became a famed author of 19th century America. He was born in New York and became one of the first America fiction authors to gain international reputation. Irving began his career writing satire essays, and he is specifically known for his works, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “Rip Van Winkle”. In his work “The Devil and Tom Walker”, he tells the story of a man and woman that lust for greed, to such an extent that they both want and make deals with the devil. The couple will soon find that their selfness and greed will lead them nowhere, but in to the devil’s house. Irving expresses the greed of Tom Walker and his wife throughout the story in the setting, the

He was supposed to extort bonds, foreclose mortgages, and drive merchants to bankruptcy and with a handshake he made a bargain with the devil. “Everyone driven to raise money by desperate means and desperate sacrifices hurried to Tom Walker” (Irving 321). He took advantage of receiving bonds and mortgages by leaving his customers without much or no money leaving the door. After collecting enough money, he saved and spent it on himself. As he was becoming an older man, he regretted his bargain that cheated the black man (the devil). He realized that he manipulated his customers by taking most or all of their money at four percent a month. All of a sudden, he became a “violent churchgoer” in which he prayed noisily (Irving 322). Knowing that the devil would soon get his revenge, he kept a bible at his desk and in his pocket at his hip. He thought he could use the bible to fight off the devil. He was not only led by temptation, he was temptation, a devil’s

Tom chose to take the darkest route that night. ‘’ Tom Walker, however was not a type of man with fears of any kind’’ (231). Tom went through a treacherous forest (230). Tom Walker agreed to sell himself to the devil by making a deal with him.

A recurring type of story is one where someone sell their soul to the devil

Include at least 4 sentences of how this problem connects to the theme of the story The Devil and Tom Walker or To Build a Fire

As people grow up, it is made apparent to them that the Devil is an evil and rather a clever person. The greatest example of the devil in action is when the devil tempts Jesus. As most know, the devil fails to get Jesus to do evil. Jesus is both human and divine while the main character of The Devil and Tom Walker, Tom Walker, is a “meager, miserly fellow”. Unfortunately, Tom Walker is not Jesus so the reader must focus in on Washington Irving’s The Devil and Tom Walker to see just exactly how and when the Devil won his game. Irving portrays to the reader that the devil cannot be beaten at his own game through setting, characters, and plot. As people have seen in sports, the setting of a game (where, when, weather, etc.) can have a big impact on the game. The same goes for The Devil and Tom Walker.

As time passes after Tom has made his deal with the devil, and he is working as a usurer in Boston, squeezing every last cent out of the unlucky speculators that walked through his door, Tom begins to wonder whether he made the right choice when he dealt with Old Scratch: "He thought with regret on the bargain he had made with his black friend, and set his wits to work to cheat him out of the conditions" (134). Tom's decision to attempt to cheat the devil becomes his downfall. Tom now begins a routine of attending a Church service and praying loudly for everyone to hear, and he outfits himself with two Bibles which he thinks will protect him to the end. In a great irony Irving tells of how Tom will put down his Bible for a few minutes while he forecloses a mortgage of some poor borrower, and the resumes his reading when he is finished. Stevens recognized this irony and noted that "Irving has a keen eye for the ironies and contradictions of human behavior." Irving presents the reader with the difficulty that can arise when intentions are based solely on personal gain. In the story, one sees how Tom Walker's actions contradict each other in their

In the short story “The Devil and Tom Walker,” by Washington Irving and “The Devil and Daniel Webster,” by Stephen Vincent Benet, the authors both focuses on one element the common man. Tom Walker and Jabez Stone sell their soul to the devil, but one seeks wealth because of greediness and the other for luck because of needs. Both the characters are different and make the deal for something.

the Fallen angel and the offer the Villain made him to offer his spirit for cash. Tom and his better half have a

“The Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving, “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe, and “Prey” by Richard Matheson all utilize grotesque or bizarre occurrences and a mysterious nature as their two themes. These authors used these themes for individual purposes that were not the same but all to give a lesson. Washington Irving wrote about how money can’t buy you happiness, Edgar Allan Poe wrote about how you cannot hold on to the past, and Richard Matheson wrote about how you cannot take control of your loved one’s life.

Evil’s origin begins with Adam and Eve using their special gift, free will, to commit the first sin. They sinned because they were tempted from the free will to choose between following or disobeying God’s orders. Paradise Lost is an epic written by John Milton that describes the fallen angel Satan and the fall of man. The Grand Inquisitor by Fyodor Dostoevsky is about an archbishop who talks with Jesus and wants to burn him as a heretic. Paradise Lost and The Grand Inquisitor both discuss free will and the stories of two benevolent characters that use their free will to choose evil. In Paradise Lost and The Grand Inquisitor, the main characters Satan and the Grand Inquisitor are evil because they use free will to choose evil over good.

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.