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Post by wireman on Jun 23, 2021 12:31:18 GMT
Today we will discuss The Devil and Tom Walker by Washington Irving
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Post by wireman on Jun 23, 2021 12:38:59 GMT
One thing I noticed was how easy this story is to read compared to other stories written around this time (1824). When reading Hawthorne or other authors from this time period, I have to go kind of slow because the use of language is so different to what I'm used to but this story is not like that. I don't think the word hither was used once. 
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Post by wireman on Jun 23, 2021 12:51:39 GMT
This story is an entertaining take on Faust and there are many other stories around this time similar to it. I'm only familiar with a couple of Washington Irving's stories but he does seem to be a masterful and entertaining storyteller. One thing about this one is that I don't have much sympathy for Tom Walker or his wife. They seemed greedy and self centered before they encountered the devil.
I downloaded the book Tales Of A Traveler from Guttenberg and that book contains this story and many others and there are links between the stories to make it almost like a novel. I did not read any of the other stories but I noticed the story right before this one was about the pirate that buried the treasure Tom dug up. I noticed that the ending of The Devil and Tom Walker is slightly different in the Tales Of A Traveler book as there is a couple of lines that connect it to the story that follows.
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Post by wireman on Jun 23, 2021 13:04:25 GMT
I'm not sure what to make about the devil being dressed in Indian clothing.
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Post by spideyman on Jun 23, 2021 19:12:20 GMT
Definitely an easier read due to less "old English" language. Story dealt with greed, religion, hypocrisy, all wrapped up within a story dealing with moral instruction.
wireman- Was there not a racist perception of Native Americans at the time the story was written, thus portraying him dressed as an Indian?
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Post by wireman on Jun 23, 2021 19:36:45 GMT
Definitely an easier read due to less "old English" language. Story dealt with greed, religion, hypocrisy, all wrapped up within a story dealing with moral instruction.
wireman - Was there not a racist perception of Native Americans at the time the story was written, thus portraying him dressed as an Indian? |
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Post by edwardjohn on Jun 23, 2021 22:16:48 GMT
This story sounds interesting. I'll get to it eventually.
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Post by wireman on Jun 24, 2021 13:06:38 GMT
Definitely an easier read due to less "old English" language. Story dealt with greed, religion, hypocrisy, all wrapped up within a story dealing with moral instruction.
wireman - Was there not a racist perception of Native Americans at the time the story was written, thus portraying him dressed as an Indian? I read a little bit about Irving and he wrote a story called Traits Of Indian Character which was a very rare (for the time) sympathetic portrayal of the natives and a rebuke of the colonials using their religion as an excuse for what they were doing. I haven't read the story but I read this analysis of it
Given that, I don't think he was making some kind of negative comment towards the Indians with the devil in this story.
The story is in a book called The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. that can be downloaded on the Gutenberg site. I plan on reading that one of these days and a few other of his stories. He was an interesting fellow.
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Post by spideyman on Jun 24, 2021 15:18:17 GMT
Definitely an easier read due to less "old English" language. Story dealt with greed, religion, hypocrisy, all wrapped up within a story dealing with moral instruction.
wireman - Was there not a racist perception of Native Americans at the time the story was written, thus portraying him dressed as an Indian? I read a little bit about Irving and he wrote a story called Traits Of Indian Character which was a very rare (for the time) sympathetic portrayal of the natives and a rebuke of the colonials using their religion as an excuse for what they were doing. I haven't read the story but I read this analysis of it
Given that, I don't think he was making some kind of negative comment towards the Indians with the devil in this story.
The story is in a book called The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. that can be downloaded on the Gutenberg site. I plan on reading that one of these days and a few other of his stories. He was an interesting fellow.
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Post by edwardjohn on Jun 24, 2021 21:43:42 GMT
I really enjoyed this story. The main message of it, to me, is not to indulge greed. Walker places profit above all and meets his comeuppance. I really liked the portrayal of the Devil in this story, he seemed to be this force of nature who prayed on the wicked. I have, of course, heard of Washington Irvine. He seems like the type of author who would be excellent to study.
I found the fact that Tom initially decided not to make the deal with the Devil so that he could spite his wife really funny. I liked the fact that she got her comeuppance.
I thought that Tom was going to make amends and find God and reject the Devil at the end, but despite his mass and prayer he resorted to his old tricks and met his justified end. Really cool.
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Post by edwardjohn on Jun 24, 2021 21:45:53 GMT
I'm not sure what to make about the devil being dressed in Indian clothing.
I thought he wore Indian dress simply because that had been the people he had been praying on before the settlers arrived. At the end of the story, he seems to dressed in a cloak and riding a horse, which suggests to me what he has adopted the attire of the new people he is praying on, the settlers. |
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Post by edwardjohn on Jun 24, 2021 21:49:58 GMT
Definitely an easier read due to less "old English" language. Story dealt with greed, religion, hypocrisy, all wrapped up within a story dealing with moral instruction.
wireman - Was there not a racist perception of Native Americans at the time the story was written, thus portraying him dressed as an Indian?
I don't there was anything racist regarding Irvine's decision to have the Devil dress in that attire. I mentioned this in my previous post, if you notice at the end, he seems to have adopted the settler attire. I think he was simply masquerading as whoever he was praying on. |
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Post by edwardjohn on Jun 24, 2021 21:51:29 GMT
One thing I noticed was how easy this story is to read compared to other stories written around this time (1824). When reading Hawthorne or other authors from this time period, I have to go kind of slow because the use of language is so different to what I'm used to but this story is not like that. I don't think the word hither was used once.
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Post by edwardjohn on Jun 24, 2021 21:53:24 GMT
Definitely an easier read due to less "old English" language. Story dealt with greed, religion, hypocrisy, all wrapped up within a story dealing with moral instruction.
wireman - Was there not a racist perception of Native Americans at the time the story was written, thus portraying him dressed as an Indian? |
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Post by wireman on Jun 24, 2021 22:12:00 GMT
I'm not sure what to make about the devil being dressed in Indian clothing.
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Post by edwardjohn on Jun 24, 2021 22:16:47 GMT
It was very different for me because I'm used to my Devil being a well-spoken English man.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Scratch
According to this, it comes from Middle English/Old Norse. |
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Post by wolf on Jun 25, 2021 0:55:06 GMT
Really?...you'd never heard that alias, "Old Scratch", before?🙂
And by the way...speaking of 'greed' and the devil...."Scratch" is also an old slang term for 'money'.
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Post by wireman on Jun 25, 2021 12:43:50 GMT
Really?...you'd never heard that alias, "Old Scratch", before?🙂
And by the way...speaking of 'greed' and the devil...."Scratch" is also an old slang term for 'money'. |
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Post by spideyman on Jun 25, 2021 13:32:16 GMT
Really?...you'd never heard that alias, "Old Scratch", before?🙂
And by the way...speaking of 'greed' and the devil...."Scratch" is also an old slang term for 'money'. |
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Post by wolf on Jun 25, 2021 15:04:34 GMT
Really?...you'd never heard that alias, "Old Scratch", before?🙂
And by the way...speaking of 'greed' and the devil...."Scratch" is also an old slang term for 'money'.  😊 |
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😊