In old American literature, themes of community, morality and the pursuit of wealth can commonly be seen across different styles of writing. John Winthrop’s “A Model of Christian Charity” and Washington Irving’s “The Devil And Tom Walker” both utilize these themes from different perspectives to reflect on their environment in an old American society. Winthrop’s sermon highlights the purpose of each theme and how they can affect and shape their Christian community. Irving's story underlines the diminishing morality coming from greed and jealous cravings. The idea of this essay is to explore how the use of each theme conveys a perspective on morality, community, and the pursuit of wealth. John Winthrope’s “A Model of Christian Charity” written in 1630 is a speech/sermon given by John …show more content…
Walker's deal with the devil in the course of time reveals the disastrous consequences of prioritizing wealth over ethical principles (morality). Washington Irving starts his story by giving insight into what goes on in Tom Walker's life. He is very poor and is married to a wife who constantly abuses him. Given this situation Irving portrays Walker as a desperate man who, given the opportunity, would get consumed by greed. After making a deal with the devil, Tom Walker lost all of his moral values and became a greedy and selfish person. For example, on page 330 it stated, “The poor land-jobber begged him to grant a few months indulgence, Tom had grown testy and irritated and refused another day.” Tom's actions here are a direct correlation to how losing his morals left a disastrous effect on his community. Tom Walker's behavior (his deal with the devil) ultimately led to his downfall and moral corruption which was detrimental to his community's