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Literary analysis question about the Devil and Tom Walker
Literary analysis question about the Devil and Tom Walker
Literary analysis question about the Devil and Tom Walker
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In all three novels “The Feather Pillow” by Horacio Quiroga, “Prey” by Richard Matherson, and “ The Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving all have an eloquent amount of elements all including Mystery/ambiguity: and a supernatural force included in their short stories. The authors purpose for these elements are to give the reader a thrill of mystery and supernatural forces that defy the nature of our world and fill the story with action, all wile keeping the reader reading to the end wile keeping them on the edge of their seat waiting to see what happens next. Each novel has supernatural forces teeming inside it ,effecting the novel and also adding -a so called- villain for the novel. First the short story “prey” by Matherson, has a supernatural
‘The Devil and Tom Walker’, is mainly about Tom deciding to sell his soul to the devil for his own desires. This does not sound like a great idea in thought, and pays for it in the end. It all begins in a small town by the name of Charles Bay. There is a legenday story that lies within Charles Bay, according to the citizens there is a great treasure burried by Kidd the pirate. Now it is said that Kidd has never returned to claim his wealth(312).
Romanticism is a type of story that finds inspiration in myth, legend, and folk culture. Following this principle, Washington Irving has written many stories about romanticism. These stories include, “The Devil and Tom Walker” and “Rip Van Winkle. Irving’s stories, “The Devil and Tom Walker, and “Rip Van Winkle” both show traits of romanticism because they both include the supernatural realm, youthful innocence over sophistication, shunning civilization, and folk culture.
In the short story titled The Devil And Tom Walker,Washington Irving explains that no matter how hard life is going to never sell our soul. For instance, Tom wanted to save his wife but in ordinary to save her Tom had to sell his soul. Irving’s asserts that walker had to sell his store to save his wife from dying. The author’s purpose is to convince that the audience should should never sell their soul no matter the situation. The author writes in an serious tone for the audience to realize that selling out isn’t the right thing to do.
“The Devil and Tom Walker” and “The Devil and Daniel Webster”-- these Faust legends tell stories of ordinary men with thirsts for wealth and luck only in exchange for their very souls. Both were written in different time periods, where certain events and happenings influenced each of the stories and their conflicts. Washington Irving wrote “The Devil and Tom Walker” during a time of economic boom (1824). Stephen Vincent Benet wrote “The Devil and Daniel Webster” during a time of economic depression (1937). Despite the stories’ titles, both have different resolutions, depictions of the devil, and saving graces in the end.
Edgar Allan Poe’s frightening gothic style poetry and short novels about fear, love, death and horror are prominent to Gothic Literature and explore madness through a nerve-recking angle. The incredible, malformed author, poet, editor and novelist is recognized for his famous classical pieces such as “The Raven”, “Berenice” and “The Tell-Tale Heart”, pieces of work that mystically yet magnificently awakens readers with a gloomy spirit. Awakening the subject of madness through written work was viewed as insane during Poe’s times. Yet Poe published some of the worlds most magnificently frightening pieces of literature throughout history. In the following essay I will examine and cautiously analyze
Modern artists today generally use images of physical and mental illness in literature. In The Tell-Tale Heart and The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe, both short stories show the usage of illness, madness, and fear. The narrators in both stories try to convince the readers that the characters are physically and mentally ill. Edgar Allen Poe creates these vivid characters which successfully assist the building of plot and ideas. Poe demonstrates how a person’s inner turmoil and terror can lead to insanity through illustrative language.
Edgar Allan Poe, better known as the first master of the short story, especially of terror and mystery. The book of stories by Edgar Allan Poe is divided into two volumes. The first volume brings together the narrations dominated by terror, the presence of the supernatural, the metaphysical preoccupation and the taste for analysis. The second one gathers explorations about the past and the future, the beautiful contemplative stories that enclose Poe's philosophy about the landscape, the series of grotesque prints and the satirical tales. In most of his stories, Poe immerses the reader in the complex labyrinths of the human psyche, forcing the reader to be accomplices of his story through the recourse of the narrator who addresses directly to us.
One of Edgar Allan Poe’s most known attributes is his use of fear in many of his stories. He used words and images to instill the fright into his readers. He strung together scenarios that happen to his characters that encapsulates real fears that a reader could have. Poe would use fear in his stories in multiple ways. A story could relate around a certain fear.
With the Romantic period valuing imagination and emotions, writers began to “read nature as system, of symbols”(A Guide to the Study of Literature). To Romantics every aspect of nature tells a story. In William Blake’s poetry he personifies the central animal in each poem. In his poem the “Lamb”, the lamb symbolizes innocence and childlike wonder.
In many stories and poems; such as the Tell Tale Heart, The Cask of Amontillado, The Raven, Annabel Lee, The House of Usher, and so many more timeless works, Edgar Allan Poe has been captivating his audiences with spine tingling thrillers through the words and style of his own twisted ways. The only way to describe where Poe’s writing belongs in history, would be classified as gothic genre. From the start of the 1800’s to present day and the future of literature, through irony, repetition, imagery, and symbolism Poe has been bewitching readers with his gore and insane writings. Poe’s life inspired so many of his poems, from focusing on taboo topics, such as death, revenge, love and loss. Poe’s life was painful and heartbreaking that
Of all gothic writers, Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most groundbreaking of them all. From The Cask of Amontillado, a story with integrated historical references of the time, to The Fall of the House of Usher, a deep and morbid story full of imagery. Anywhere from The Tell-Tale Heart, truly a story of both unique syntax and perspective, to The Raven, a poem full of symbols and eerie repetition. Through these and many more, Poe has been using his writing style to immerse people into his stories and poems alike since 1839. However, Poe is only able to accomplish this through his unique writer’s style, particularly his forceful imagery and meaningful syntax.
In “The Fall of the House of Usher” the tone gives off an eerie and bizarre feeling. This is similar to many of Poe’s other short stories but this piece the most. The tone is gloomy compared to “The Black Cat” that Poe has also written. The author starts off the story with immense details of the setting. The readers get a dark vibe from these details.
The story portrays a lot of anger, greed, and fear. Edgar Allan Poe used these forms of nature to show that although nobody is perfect, they most important thing is to do the right thing, be kind, and courageous no matter what. By using supernatural, gloom and horror, revenge, and a castle this was the perfect setting for the horror story it became, using this to show that it is some humans nature to be selfish, fearful, or powerful made readers understand the importance of the message Poe was trying to depict. Always doing the right
At the same time, nature as a teacher teaches man to accept all the changes in life. It also motivates man. In the world of literature nature plays a very role to set the mood of the text. The creative artist uses nature to reveal both comic and tragic aspects of human life. Nature itself acts as one the most dominating characters in text which exercises its powerful impression upon the character.
