How does the Devil and Tom Walker relate to romanticism?

Romanticism. “The Devil and Tom Walker” is an example of romanticism in American literature. Romanticism within literature stretched the inner feelings of characters and challenged them to change their pasts. Characters, such as Tom, his wife and even the devil, are acutely aware of pasts that they desire to change.

What is the main theme of the Devil and Tom Walker?

Greed. Greed is the central theme of “The Devil and Tom Walker.” It is greed that killed Kidd the piratefor stealing things that did not belong to himas well as Tom’s wife and even Tom Walker. Tom’s wife is willing to sacrifice anything to take the devil’s offer of riches.

What is the lesson in The Devil and Tom Walker?

The moral in The Devil in Tom Walker is that if you sell your soul to the devil to get what you want, it will end up destroying you. When we say sell your soul it is usually a metaphor.

What is the mood in the Devil and Tom Walker?

The mood–that attitude that an author evokes from his readers–in “The Devil and Tom Walker” is humorous and didactic. Irving uses the story to satirize cold marital relationships and superstitious, greedy humans.

What does Tom Walker’s wife symbolize?

Tom’s wife can at least be said to represent greed or to be strongly driven by it. This is evidenced both by the narrator’s initial description of her as miserly, and unable to share even the simplest of things with her husband, and by her later insistence on making the deal with Scratch to acquire the treasure.

What does the Bible symbolize in The Devil and Tom Walker?

When the devil arrives to take Tom away, Irving writes “He had left his little Bible at the bottom of his coat-pocket and his big Bible on the desk buried under the mortgage he was about to foreclose:” This symbolically represents the extent of Tom’s greed and moral decay.

What do the devil’s trees in the swamp represent?

Describe the devil’s trees. What do they symbolize? The trees of the wooded and swamp area symbolized the land owners, slave drivers, and colonists that have taken the land from the Native Americans. They were all sinners that had made deals with the devil for their own greed and material desires.

What is the irony in the Devil and Tom Walker?

The dark and humorous irony in this passage is that normally nobody would willingly wish to sell her soul to the devil, and that the only reason Tom does not go through with the deal is simply to spite his wife rather than any concerns for his own welfare.

What does Tom symbolize?

In some ways, Tom Buchanan represents the fulfillment of the American Dream, because he has wealth, a lavish estate, fancy cars, a child, and a beautiful wife—he has everything that the classic American dreamer desires. But in other respects, Tom proves the archetype of the American Dream to be a myth.

How did Tom get rich in the Great Gatsby?

Tom and Daisy were highly educated and came from money, while Gatsby got his money from selling illegal alcohol and throwing extravagant parties with the alcohol. He represents new money while Daisy and Tom represent old money.

What was Tom Buchanan American dream?

Toms dream: His American dream was to stay wealthy and have everything a high ranking member of society would have had. He wants to be the top dog. He had money, a wife and a mistress that made him feel superior which is what he wanted. Without those things he would not have felt important nor be happy.

How is Tom Buchanan arrogant?

Tom Buchanan can be described as an arrogant, unfaithful, and sexist man that has no respect for anyone other than himself. He demonstrates these qualities time and time again, or whenever the chance to do so presents itself.

Why is Tom Buchanan the worst character?

Tom is a character with few redeeming qualities. He represents the worst aspects of the super-rich in American society whose money insulates them from the normal constraints of law or morality. Nick describes them as: careless people – they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money.

What kind of person is Tom Buchanan?

Tom Buchanan Daisy’s immensely wealthy husband, once a member of Nick’s social club at Yale. Powerfully built and hailing from a socially solid old family, Tom is an arrogant, hypocritical bully.

How does Tom Buchanan behave?

To be blunt, everything Tom Buchanan does and says in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby confirms that he is a racist, abusive, arrogant cheater; even his wealth and family background do not save him from being anything but a villain in this novel.

Does Tom really love Daisy?

Tom loved Daisy in different ways at different times in their relationship, but he did love her in his own way. Through them all, however, Daisy remained his ‘trophy wife’ as the beautiful and rich woman who made him feel strong and important by depending on him to protect her when she most needed protection.

Is Tom Buchanan smart?

Tom’s character is very well established in the first chapter. He is wealthy, arrogant, condescending, unfaithful to his wife, and really not very smart.

Why does Nick say Tom has a cruel body?

Nick says that Tom’s body was “capable of enormous leverage – a cruel body.” He means that Tom uses his physical size to intimidate and bully people. Tom is used to getting his way in matters and since he is immature and selfish, this means sometimes using force.