Well, I lost my flash drive that had about 6 amazing paragraphs on it for the start of this analysis and all of my notes. So I rushed to rewrite everything and edit it before class in one day. I am really unhappy with this essay...so this is what I wrote in a rush:
Lee Bernier
Dr. Mosser
Transatlantic Literature
April 13, 2011
“The Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving: Symbolism and the Black Comedy of Characters
There have been many stories, songs, films, and art portraying the classic tale of man vs. the devil. The old German legend of “Faust,” which is believed to be the main influence for Washington Irving’s “The Devil and Tom Walker”, was used as a lesson to scare people from wrongdoing. However, Washington used the general theme of bargaining with the devil for a richly symbolic and entertaining story with incredible detail and style of popular gothic fiction in Europe, where he lived at the time it was written. Irving’s dark descriptive style and three wicked characters conveyed the moral message of Faust throughout by using symbolic rhetoric and black comedy.
The setting depicted in the story was described through vividly dark imagery of a gloomy and ominous forest with a murky swamp over what was once an Indian fort used to protect the Native American’s children from attack during conflict with the colonists of America. Every description of setting or character in the story was of a negative and sinister connotation. In 1727, the time in which the story was said to have taken place, was historically a harsh time for Boston. Earthquakes and insolvent difficulties caused the people to believe the bad events were acts of god brought on in response to their sins. New England, only 100 years before the story was claimed to have taken place, was involved in much scandal, including the Salem Witch Trials. The history of colonization, witchcraft, and other occult activities consumed the New England area with folklore and rumors, one of which was the story of “The Devil and Tom Walker”.
The narrator of the story, who was actually a fictional character described in the collection of Irving’s book of collected short stories Tales of a Treveller, was telling a story he had heard and has been passed along by oral tradition of storytelling and gossip. This, however, makes the narrator unreliable. Though he mentioned several times that he was not sure of any truth to the story, he also contradicted himself in some areas by stating that certain facts were true. He is unreliable because he was telling a story that has been manipulated, buy others, including him. He tried very hard to stay objective throughout the story, but gave slight glimpses into his personal beliefs of the facts that were relayed to him. The narrator used words, demeanor and slightly humorous, but twisted, ideals to portray the characters of the story.
Tom Walker, the main character of the story, was a wretched man unhappy with his life. He lived with his wife, his main source of misery, in a house described as a desolate and dreary place. It appeared to look like a haunted house with lifeless and gloomy sensation. Again, the setting was portrayed with a sense of sinful misery like that of the worries and fate of sinners. Tom was discontent with his home and had a strong desire to acquire money and material possessions. He constantly fought with his wife and even displayed remnants of their disputes with bruises on his face. Tom met the devil, who he had heard referred to as “Old Scratch,” in a swamp that he crossed through on his way home. He liked the devil and was even thankful to him for killing his wife. Though he was obviously a horrible character by standard norms, his comments about his wife and actions throughout the story toward her induces humor and discomfort from the readers, a classic form of black comedy. Because of this humor, readers may feel somewhat sympathetic to Tom.
Tom’s wife, whose name was never given, was of similar likeness to Tom. She was a miserable and angry woman. She hated her life, home, and husband. She was described as having a violent temper directed toward Tom. She hid possessions from him and wanted everything for herself. She was selfish, hateful, and ultimately sinful. Her wickedness was proved by her attempt to make her own deal with devil in jealousy of the offer he extended to her husband. The only physical description of Tom’s wife was of her tall stature, this with the many descriptions of her personality allows the reader to visualize a picture of an unsightly woman with a face wrinkled from long years of angry expression and a masculine and overpowering frame.
The devil or Old Scratch as he was known to the people that live in the area surrounding the swamp, was described the most by the narrator. He was dark skinned and Tom referred to him as “black man,” and said that he was “neither negro nor Indian.” He described him as wearing dirty Indian clothing and looking “as if he had been accustomed to toil among fires and forges.” He had red eyes and dark black hair. He never actually said that he was the devil, but he alluded to it. Old Scratch carried an axe over his shoulder and pointed out the dead trees, in the area of the old Indian fort where sacrifices were once made to him, engraved with the names of many patriarchs of the past and present.
The setting and all three of these characters were presented with many symbolic descriptions throughout the story. 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. The trees were branded with their names, and after falling to the ground the devil used them for firewood, symbolizing the devils collection of their souls to hell. The trees, described by Tom, were “fair and flourishing without, but rotten at the core” like that of the societal patriarchs that on the outside appeared to have everything, but on the inside they were evil spirited sinners. The trees fell when the men’s souls were claimed and taken by the devil.
Greed was symbolized throughout the story. One of the early examples of this was of the skull that Tom discovered buried under the ground with a tomahawk in its skull. It showed the greed and destruction of the colonists that conquered the land and how they had warred with the Native Americans. Tom also displayed throughout the story his immense greed and selfishness. His humorous display of greed was especially shown when he went looking for his wife after she had been missing for days. He wasn’t concerned for her, but he was concerned for the silver tea-pot, spoons, and other expensive items from their home. When he found her apron containing her heart and liver, he was instantly saddened over the loss of his property, not his wife. A subtle symbolism for greed occurred at the end of the story when Tom set his “green spectacles” on his bible to mark his place while he turned around to “drive some usurious bargain.” Green spectacles, the color of American notes and symbolic for greed, was used to enhance his sight. Tom was driven to make money for him and the devil, yet ironically he was reading the bible with those glasses, another example of the black humor displayed in the story.
There were many symbolisms of hell, the devil, and sin throughout the story. When Old Scratch put his finger print on Tom’s forehead to prove who he is, Tom was unable to wash the print off, and it appeared as if it was burned into his skin. This was the mark of the devil as he resided in the flames of hell. After putting the fingerprint on Tom’s forehead, the devil gradually disappeared down into the ground, presumably to the depths of hell. The devil was also referred to in many ways as dark, black, dirty looking and he rode upon a black horse. The dark imagery was symbolic of the darkness of evil, hell, and sin.
Tom, after he made a deal with the devil to become a usurer and obtain the pirate treasure in exchange for his soul, became scared and regretful of his contract with the devil and became very religious and worrisome. The story concluded with Tom’s soul being claimed by the devil after having made a hefty profit by charging high rates from his customers and taking all of their earned money with the advantage of the harsh economical times. This regret may gain sympathy from the readers until the very end of the story where he refused to help a friend when he was about to foreclose on his mortgage. It was then that he cried out, in response to the man’s comment on his gained wealth from his misfortune, saying “The devil take me if I have made a farthing!” and he does. Tom was carried off by the devil and his black horse into the swamp and the forest was set ablaze. His wealth and belongings were gone. Within the story, with its dark humor and satire, the moral was maintained from Faust. The conclusion to the story states “Let all gripping money-brokers lay this story to heart.”
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The Progression of Scamming: Confidence Games of the 19th-21st Centuries
Scams are everywhere. They attack at all angles, and in all forms. From the side of a street to a computer monitor, scamming has made victims of the gullible for centuries. Being quick to judge, the average person would say that they would never fall prey to a scam, and those that do are stupid and naïve. But over time, scammers have found new and innovative ways, with the use of constantly advancing technology, to scam a broader range of victims. Those that think they are too smart to lose their money to a scam are now picking up the pieces of their own financial robbery in shame.
Imagine a caravan transporting goods in the Arabian Desert around 500 CE. The traveling merchants encounter numerous tribes through their journey. On one of these encounters, a tribesman approaches the caravan with an offer to trade some goods. While the negotiation is taking place, a young boy stands by. Seemingly innocent, the merchants think nothing of the young boy until after they have traveled on and realized that some of their merchandise has been stolen.
A scam starts with what scammers call a mark. In this case, the traveling merchants are the mark. The mark must have something of importance or value, usually money or expensive items. The con man, also known as the confidence man, is the tribesman. He wants what the target has, so he resorts to stealing it. He greets the caravan peacefully with the offer of trade. The young boy is known as the plant. He is an accomplice to the tribesman and steals the goods while the merchants are distracted.
The confidence men acquired their nickname by gaining the confidence of the mark. It seems unusual to trust someone you have just met on the street, or in this case, passing by in the desert. However, we often trust strangers for reasons we are not aware. The confidence man takes advantage of this natural trait of man to want to trust and believe that people are generally good and trustworthy. The con man can appear as a well dressed man with a delightful persona. This may cause the mark to trust him. He seems like a likeable and honest person. He appears trustworthy and honest, a common stereotype of middle and upper class men and women.
The extreme opposite of this example is an appearance that gives the mark a reason to feel sympathy for the con man. The confidence man will wear dirty, torn and tattered clothing, and sunglasses that make him appear to be blind. The facade of living a hard life on the streets may cause the mark to feel sorry for the assumed homeless man, and give him money. In reality, he is not blind, nor is he homeless. This scam has worked in the past, but overuse of it has caused many people to distrust the homeless and treat them as if they are all dishonest criminals. The classic example of this distrust and unsympathetic disgust of another common stereotype, has been referenced in countless films and television programs with the passerby declining the pleas for charity, claiming the beggar will only use the donation for drugs and alcohol, a stereotype perhaps influenced by the history and effects of early scams.
Another way for the confidence man to swindle the mark is by taking advantage his or her greed. The con man will offer a possibility to make money by investments or get rich schemes and even street or carnival games. The mark wants to make money just as anyone would, and the tempting offer for quick and labor-free cash is appealing to them. Therefore, the con man convinces them that the investment will be fail proof. An example of this would be card games using trick cards that give no possibility of winning. The mark may even be swindled several more times by thinking they are only experiencing bad luck.
Not all scams were as simple as card tricks and pick pocketing. Confidence men are extremely intelligent and conjure up some pretty unique ways to scam people. One of the most famous scam artists of the 19th century was the Scottish soldier Gregor MacGregor. He went to South America to fight in the South American struggle for independence and returned home announcing that he had gained leadership over a country called Poyais. Many people invested in the idea of colonizing Poyais, and they even gave their British pounds to MacGregor in exchange for Poyais Dollars, which MacGregor had made himself. He also arranged for two ships to take these wealthy investors to the made-up colonized country. When they arrived they knew that had been scammed by the shocking sight of unsettled jungle. Some died of disease, and one person, who had invested all of his money into the voyage, commit suicide. MacGregor continued the scam until 1837 and died in 1845, only having served short sentences in jail for unrelated scamming minor scams.
One of the more known scam artists of the 20th century is Kenneth Lay of the Enron Corporation scam. Lay was the Chief Executive Officer and chairman of the company and was indicted on many counts of fraud. He was found guilty of 10 counts of fraud, but he died during the appeal process of his sentencing in 2006. Another example of a famous scammer, David Marius Guardino, was considered to be a great psychic and performed séances claiming that he could speak to celebrities. The most famous séance he performed was at Graceland, where he claimed to be in contact with Elvis Presley. He also claimed he could cure chronic diseases and paralysis, but was quickly discovered as a fraud and died in prison from medical complications.
In the 21st century, knowledge of such scams has become so widespread, that most people automatically are skeptical and take extra precautions to protect their pockets. Because of this change, scammers have turned their attention to the most commonly used tool of technology, the internet. Scammers are still playing the same ballgame but with a different arena and uniform.
The internet opens up a portal into our homes, finances, and most personal information. Confidence men now gain the confidence of their mark through emails and chat rooms. One common online scam comes in the form of an email from an unknown sender that claims to be the recipient of a hefty inheritance in need of an account to stash their money. These emails often come from Nigeria and can be referred to as the “Nigerian 419” scam. They seek the bank account number of the mark to deposit money into their accounts, instead, they withdraw everything the mark owns. Most people that read a 419 email delete it immediately because it sounds too good to be true, but for some, it is an appealing and easy way to make money without thinking of the consequences. These crimes are often not reported because of the shame and embarrassment of the victim.
Those that do report internet crimes are often not taken seriously by local authorities. It may be treated by law enforcement as unimportant or as if it is not a real crime. With low budgets and understaffed local departments, these crimes may not even be written down on official police reports. If someone did not fall for a scam, but attempts to report it, are often told they haven’t been victimized, so there is nothing they can legally do.
Scamming will never stop, especially with new up and coming technology and social networking sites. There are just too many con men with constantly changing schemes for law enforcement to keep up. Confidence men know this, and it makes them more daring and seemingly unstoppable. The only way to stop the progression of scamming is to stay one step ahead of the criminals by the media or word of mouth. Developing better security software and alerting the public about new scams and how to protect themselves are crucial. Confidence men will forever seek the confidence of the mark, but a knowledgeable mark will make it difficult for their scams to succeed.
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Analysis of David Henry Hwang’s “The Sound of a Voice”
The Sound of a Voice, by David Henry Hwang, is a sorrowful play about the desire and desperation of two lonely opposites. Hwang’s ability to pull the audience’s interest in with sympathy and pity for his lonely characters is incredible. Both characters in the play are complex and mysterious. Throughout the play, the man and woman are building a beautiful understanding of each other. The symbolisms of their loneliness, the change in attraction, and a tragic end of life, make for an incredible story of an ironic and unexpected union of two lost and lonely souls.
Scene I is set in the woman’s dull kitchen where she pours tea to her visitor. It is this scene where the man, a transient that has found his way to her home, first notices the colorful flowers in a vase perched upon a shelf. When the visitor notices the flowers, he steals one. He is intrigued by the flowers and their liveliness. The woman seems to resemble her environment. She is boring, reclusive and homely. Much like her home was described in the play, she appears to be “drab” (Hwang). The only lively part of her home is the flowers. Perhaps this contrast of appearances is what intrigued the visitor.
The woman makes it known from the beginning that she is extremely lonely. She yearns for human interaction. She states to the man “But anything you say, I will enjoy hearing. It’s not even the words. It’s the sound of a voice, the way it moves through the air.” (Hwang) With rare visits, she misses interaction. She misses it so much that any sound of voice would be soothing, no matter what it is saying. She tells the man that she does not remember the last time she had a visitor. The time in between her visits are still and quiet. Those lonely periods of time are lifeless. As she claims “Time begins with the entrance of a visitor, and ends with his exit.” (Hwang)
Though they are opposites, the man and woman find common ground when he speaks of where he chooses to sleep in the forest. The night before his arrival, the man sleeps next to waterfall and tells the woman about it stating “The sound of water put me to sleep. It rumbled like the sounds of a city. You see, I can’t sleep too much in silence.”(Hwang) They both are scared of silence. She admits to the man that she will sleep better now that he is there, “I’ll lie down in the next room, and hear your breathing through the wall, and fall asleep shamelessly.”(Hwang).
At the end of Scene II, the man is preparing for sleep. The woman says goodnight and takes the flowers out of the room. The man sleeps with the stolen flower under his pillow and hears something before he falls asleep. What he hears is not yet known to the audience, but it symbolizes a very important element to the story.
After staying several weeks, the man starts to notice that the woman is forming an attraction to him. At first this makes him feel uncomfortable as he is chopping wood without a shirt on and she stares and makes comments about his body. He then the next day purposely keeps his shirt on as if to repel her attraction. He mentions to the woman that the night before he heard her playing a flute. This delicate tune was heard softly as he was attempting to sleep. She is bashful and tells him that she is not very good at it. He does however convince her to play for him. Before she begins to play she states to the man “I try to make these sounds resemble the human voice. The shakuhachi (flute) became my weapon. To ward off the air.”(Hwang)
It is at this point of the play, Scene V, that it becomes obvious a mutual attraction has been formed. He begins to see the woman in a new light. She is soft, gentle and sweet. She is lonely, and so is he. At night he continues to hear the beautiful sound of the flute. He peaks into the room where she is playing and sees that the room is full of flowers and is stunningly beautiful despite its dreariness. He now sees the woman as a youthful with elegant features. When the man returns to his bed, the stolen flower is wilted.
The next day the man is practicing with his sword. The woman shows him that she also can handle a sword with great precision. Wondering how she learned this, she tells him “I’ve had to pick one up”. This indicates that the woman before has had to defend herself. It is this scene, Scene VII, that the man reveals his true intentions for his journey. The woman is known to outsiders as a witch. Rumors state that she has many male guests, but they never return. The woman states she is aware of the rumors and that “great glory was to be had by killing the witch in the woods.” The man has come for that reason.
Scene VII is also where the meaning of the flowers can be interpreted. The man claims he can hear faint voices coming from inside the flowers. The voices to him sound like lost imprisoned souls. “It hums with the peacefulness of one who is completely imprisoned.” In silence these voices can be heard. She becomes angry with him and tells him that if he came to kill her, then he should go ahead and do it. She is tired of being alone and would rather die than experience the loss of another visitor. This suggests that the witch has imprisoned the souls of the men that have attempted to leave in order to ward of her loneliness.
At the end of the play, the man attempts to leave the woman’s house without saying goodbye. He is ashamed that he cannot complete his task of killing the witch because he formed feelings for her. She approaches him as he is leaving and is obviously upset. She tells him “All I wanted was an escape- for both of us. The sound of a human voice- the simplest thing to find, and the hardest to hold onto. This house- my loneliness is etched into the walls. Kill me, but don’t leave. Even in death, my spirit would rest here and be comforted by your presence.”
In the final scene, the woman runs into her room and the man follows. He attempts to play her flute but it does not make a sound. This represents the death of the woman, absolute silence. She is seen hanging from the ceiling. She appears young, suggesting that the woman was a ghost. She only existed to him as a lost and lonely apparition. She is surrounded by many vases of her flowers, their petals sprawled about the room and whirling in the air. The lonely ghost of the woman is now gone and the trapped souls of her visitors are freed.
Hwang, David Henry. The Sound of a Voice. Sixth Compact Edition. Boston: Boston, 2005. 1222-1236. Print.
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Roald Dahl: A Comparison of Deadly, yet Loveable Characters
Roald Dahl, born in 1916, is one of the most famous children’s authors of the twentieth century. His legendary books include: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, and James and the Giant Peach (Wikipedia). These three favorites, all of which were made into films, have dark and sometimes twisted plots. But before becoming an established and well known children’s author, Dahl wrote many adult short fiction stories that contained dark humor, rich and complex personalities, and a sort of forced adoration for murderous and insane characters. Two of his short stories, “The Landlady” and “Lamb to the Slaughter”, each have a main character that share similar traits making them deadly, yet loveable.
In both of these stories, Roald Dahl uses his beautiful yet simple descriptions to paint a picture of the main characters. Their actual physical characteristics differ in many ways, but somehow still manage to create a presumption of peaceful innocence. Mary Maloney, the murderous wife in “Lamb to the Slaughter” (Dahl 39-44), is physically described in a way that creates the impression to the reader of an angelic like beauty. He writes of her skin as having a “wonderful translucent quality” and describes her mouth as “soft”. The most descriptive, and again simple, physical feature written
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about Mary was of her eyes. “The eyes, with their new placid look, seemed larger, darker than before“. This can be interpreted as a change within Mary, possibly an anger or hate brewing for her husband who she outwardly loves and adores.
The Landlady, who is not named in the story, is said to have appeared to be middle aged. Though Dahl does not state specifics on what actual physical traits are attributed to that estimation. She is presented as a sweet and kind woman. He states that she has a “warm, welcoming smile”. There are not many physical descriptions provided in the story of “The Landlady” (Dahl 52). Instead Dahl focuses his physical descriptions more on the leading male character in the story, just as he did in “Lamb to Slaughter”. Without physical descriptions, the reader is forced to picture the Landlady in their mind’s eye based upon her personality within the dialogue. Based on the observations, the Landlady appears to be charming and pleasant. At first, all of these impressions of both Mary and the Landlady that are given to the audience present them as loveable characters, a very misleading interpretation.
One major similarity between these two characters was their ability to facilitate a sense of trust with the main male characters and the audience through positive impressions. Mary Malone is portrayed as the compliant and perfect housewife. So much so, that her husband is confident that he can tell her devastating news and speak to her in a vile tone, trusting that her reaction will be quiet and benign. The Landlady enables trust with her kind demeanor and welcoming home. The main character, Billy Weaver, refers to her in the story as looking “exactly like the mother of one’s best school friend welcoming one into the house to stay for the Christmas Holidays”.
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The women from these two stories are extremely mysterious. The reasons for why they kill are unknown. Mary is told something devastating in “Lamb to the Slaughter” by her husband Patrick. What he reveals to her in the story is unknown. Amazingly, Roald Dahl manages to get away with not sharing this bit of information that would normally be of great importance to the plot, by giving the attitude that it is completely insignificant. In “The Landlady”, no explanation is given to the motives behind the Landlady’s killings. This tactic used by Dahl makes the story and characters much more mysterious and inviting to interpretation.
Another comparison between these two mystifying characters is their odd selection of means in which to kill the leading male in the story. Both of these characters used food as their murder weapon. Mary Malone descended into the basement cellar to retrieve a leg of lamb to bake for dinner after being told the devastating news from Patrick. After Patrick shouts at her saying that he is going out for dinner, she whacks him on the back of his skull with the lamb causing him to plummet to the floor and die. The Landlady also had a humorous and strange way of killing her victims. She poisoned poor Billy Weaver presumably with cyanide (the tea tasted of bitter almonds). Though it is not clearly stated in the story, it is hinted that the Landlady kills her guests and stuffs them, making them permanent guests to her cozy bed and breakfast.
The conclusions to both of these stories continue to leave the audience struggling to declare whether or not these characters are loveable or absolutely evil. In the end of “Lamb to Slaughter”, the police officers investigating the murder of Patrick are standing in the kitchen feasting on the very same lamb that killed him while discussing where the murder weapon could be. While brainstorming on the possible locations, Mary sits in
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the other room listening and begins to “giggle”. This signifies to the audience a child like manner that attaches somewhat of an innocence to her. In “The Landlady”, after Billy is poisoned, he questions whether or not there have been any other guests within the last couple of years other than the two men listed in the guestbook. With a “gentle little smile” she states “No, my dear. Only you”. She continues to be the sweet and loveable motherly type as she watches him sip his deadly tea.
The genius writing style of Roald Dahl is the main contributing factor to these fascinating and deeply disturbing individuals. Saying very little, often says a lot. Roald Dahl beautifully does this by creating mental images of these characters by simply describing their manner. He evolves these sweet and innocent characters into the dark and murderous, yet loveable villain.
"Roald Dahl." Wikipedia Foundation, Inc, July 6, 2010. Web. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roald_Dahl>.
Dahl, Roald. "Lamb to the Slaughter." Harper's Magazine Septembr 1953: 39-44. Print.
Dahl, Roald. "The Landlady." New Yorker 28 Nov. 1959: 52. Print.
