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Mood And Symbolism In Washington Irving's The Devil And Tom Walker

1597 Words7 Pages

“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm” (Churchill). Irving was a very successful writer in his time and still well known today. Washington Irving is firmly planted into the tapestry of American literature because of his use of mood and symbolism in his short story, “The Devil and Tom Walker”. Washington Irving was born in New York City in 1783. Irving had a knack for making up authors for stories he created. Under his aliases he played the role of a satirist. For example, one of the authors he created was Jonathan Oldstyle, which was to imitate the British writers that could not accept the values of the United States. Even though writing was where his heart belonged, Irving’s father sent him to the failing family business overseas …show more content…

The Devil told Tom about how he could receive money that Kidd the Pirate buried in the swamp. Tom went home to discuss with his wife about the money, but he refused to bargain with the Devil just to make her happy. His wife was so greedy that she set off to deal with the Devil herself. Tom waited days, but never saw her again.This made Tom very happy and he felt that the Devil had done him a favor, so he decided that he would make the deal after all. He wanted to earn the money being employed by the Devil, so he became a broker that would charge insane amounts of money. Tom became a rich and powerful man over the years, but began to develop a different outlook on life as he became older. He suddenly became very Christian and was regretting ever making the deal with the Devil. Knowing that his time drew near, he started to read and carry a bible in his pocket anywhere he went, and left a very large bible on the desk where he makes the deals with the people he is taking money from. One day however, the Devil caught him off guard without his bible while Tom was closing a deal. He heard

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Tom Walker comes across the devil when walking through the woods on his way home. The devil reels Tom Walker in by speaking of money hidden away, the devil tells Tom Walker he can help him obtain the money on certain terms. We know Tom Walker is greedy because on page three hundred and fourteen, lines seventeen through twenty two, "...there lived near this place a meager, miserly fellow, the name of Tom Walker. He had a wife as miserly as himself: they even conspired to cheat each other. ..

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Comparing Washington Irving And Rip Van Winkle

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Transformation of the Tale: Washington Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle” and Robert Coover’s Rip Awake An American folklore that established Washington Irving as one of the first American authors, “Rip Van Winkle” is a short story about a local Dutch-American villager and the mysterious event that kept him away from home for twenty years. Narrated in the third person omniscient, the narrator depicts a panoramic view of the natural landscape as well as provides an objective view of the main character’s thoughts. To provide a closer view of his personal thoughts, Robert Coover reintroduces Rip Van Winkle with his own monologue in Rip Awake to give him a voice to describe the aftermath of his experience when he returns home.

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Abuse In Washington Irving's The Devil And Tom Walker

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Mrs. Walker’s abuse of her husband is only one facet of her twisted psyche. Washington Irving’s tale, “The Devil and Tom Walker,” satirically criticizes the people of 1720s Boston for their greed through characters such as Mrs. Walker. Because her motivation is control, Mrs. Walker’s psychological state is abusive and her actions result in her death. Mrs. Walker’s violent tendencies often victimize Tom and expose her as an abusive character. Irving writes (2010), “Her voice was often heard in wordy warfare with her husband; and his face sometimes showed signs that their conflicts were not confined to words.”

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Rhetorical Analysis Of The Devil And Tom Walker

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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.

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1226 Words | 5 Pages

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