1. Washington Irving
Response: "The Devil and Tom Walker".
"The Devil and Tom Walker" is a folktale that brings reality alive. It is a model of how greed and cheat in life still exist. This folktale has two main characters, both living with a mind of evil intentions. Tom Walker is an unhappy man; always thinking the world owes him something. This is probably why he lives really miserably, and was so open to whom we meet next, the Black fellow. The Black Fellow is a devil in disguise, hoping to find a man like Tom, just as he did. He is about control and evilness, which leads Tom into a life worse then what he started out with. While I read the story, it was obvious to me that the text gets into detail, and then stops with a sudden finish, of each explained passage. The text was also very organized so it was possible to identify the climax, and the rising and falling action. It was also easier to enjoy this way.
Thoughts:.
As I go back into the main theme of greed and cheat, I assume the author chose them for a reason. In many ways today, you still hear about them. They"ll always be around until people learn not to care so much about themselves. I know we are told to care about our needs first, but there is a point to stop. I mean it took a thing like September 11, 2001 to finally get peoples attention to volunteer their time and money. To me that is pathedic, why should we have to wait till the point of terrorism to be united. Also, it seems like as the world becomes advanced and older, people's needs become bigger. What happened to the good old days, when people were satisfied with the greatest invention of 1880, the telephone? Now people have more then one in their homes, plus the latest in cell phone technology. We can't blame our brilliant scientists and inventors for making the world easier, but only ourselves for getting to this point. I am glad this story was read; probably it will remind the young generation like us to change our greedy ways for the future.