Sunday, March 25, 2012

What are the similarities and differences in "The Devil and Tom Walker" and "The Devil and Daniel Webster"?

Both stories are about poor men who strike a deal with the devil. In "The Devil and Daniel Webster," Jabez Stone is genuinely down on his luck. He works hard to support his family, but nothing works. After a particularly trying day, he says, "I vow it's enough to make a man sell his soul to the devil and I would too for two cents." The devil doesn't show up right away, which gives Jabez hope. He is a religious man, so he knows that it was foolish to say. In "The Devil and Tom Walker," Tom meets the devil by chance while walking through the forest. He doesn't run away, like most people would. He isn't afraid of the devil, because he already deals with his wife, who is a mean woman.

Jabez prospers for six years. Then the devil comes to collect what Jabez owes him. Jabez begs to be let out of the deal, but all he gets is a three-year extension.
The devil makes a deal with Tom Walker—his soul in exchange for Captain Kidd's treasure. Tom Walker is as poor as Jabez Stone, but his reason for wanting the treasure is his greed. He goes home to tell his wife about his meeting with the devil, and she encourages him to take the deal. But the more she talks about it, the more he refuses, just because he doesn't want her to have any of the treasure.

Jabez Stone's family knows nothing about his deal with the devil. Tom Walker's wife goes out into the forest, hoping to find the devil so that she can make a deal with him. She never returns, and she is never found. Jabez wants to get out of his deal with the devil, so he hires a lawyer, Daniel Webster, to represent him. Daniel Webster is an amazing lawyer, so he is able to save Jabez's soul.

In contrast to Jabez Stone, Tom Walker follows the devil's instructions to a T. He becomes an usurer and becomes very rich. He does start to worry about his soul as he grows older, and he becomes an avid churchgoer. It doesn't help him, though. As he is dealing with a particularly troubling client, he says, "The devil take me if I have made a farthing!" The devil shows up right then and whisks Tom Walker away, and no one ever sees him again.

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