A Young America At the time Irving wrote “The Devil and Tom Walker” in 1824, the United States was a new and growing country. As the land was populated by various groups of European immigrants, a uniquely American culture slowly formed as the traditions of many different groups merged and new traditions, brought on by…
Tag: Short Stories
The Devil and Tom Walker: Literary Devices
Point of View This Washington Irving story is narrated by Geoffrey Crayon, a fictional character created by Irving who appears in a number of the author’s works. The story’s status of “legend” or “tall tale” is enhanced by Crayon’s comments and the fact that he places the year it takes place, 1727, nearly a hundred…
The Devil and Tom Walker: Themes
Greed Greed is one of the most important themes of “The Devil and Tom Walker” Tom is approached by Old Scratch and offered wealth beyond his wildest dreams. Initially, Tom is so greedy that he declines because he would have to share the fortune with his wife. Eventually, however, Tom is duped by the false…
The Devil and Tom Walker: Characters
The Devil See Old Scratch Old Scratch Old Scratch is the guise for the Devil, who appears in “The Devil and Tom Walker” as a dark-skinned man. Readers are told, however, that he is neither Indian (Native American) nor white. He has deep red eyes, wears a red sash, and carries his axe on his…
The Devil and Tom Walker: Summary
In Washington Irving’s “The Devil and Tom Walker,” set in New England in the early 1700s, a narrator relates a story he has heard about a local man’s dealings with the devil. The narrator never claims that the stories are true, only that they are widely believed. According to local legend, a treasure is buried…
Children of the Sea by Edwidge Danticat: Analysis
At the age of twenty-six, young for a writer, Edwidge Danticat has many honors credited to her name. Aside from publishing two books, the novel Breath, Eyes, Memory and a collection of short stories, Krik? Krak!, she has also received much critical acknowledgment. Her novel earned her recognition by the New York Times as one…
Children of the Sea by Edwidge Danticat: Setting
Haiti: The Early Years Although Danticat had been living in the United States for fourteen years by the time ‘ ‘Children of the Sea” was first published, the story draws upon her experience of having spent her early years in Haiti. With generations of experience in poverty, dictatorship, and oppression, Haiti’s population knows hardship well….
Children of the Sea: Literary Devices
Point of View and Narration “Children of the Sea” is narrated in the first person by two distinct voices. The first belongs to a young man who is fleeing Haiti on a leaky boat. The second voice is that of the man’s lover, a young woman who remains in Haiti with her family. The story…
Children of the Sea by Edwidge Danticat: Themes
“Children of the Sea” follows two Haitian narrators in the tumultuous days following the coup that deposed President Aristide. Justice and Injustice One of the most important themes in “Children of the Sea” is justice. From the reader’s perspective, the overwhelming injustice of the narrators’ situation is highlighted by the events the author chooses to…
Children of the Sea by Edwidge Danticat: Characters
Celianne Celianne is a young woman of fifteen who is on the boat with the first narrator. She is pregnant, rarely eats, and “stares in space all the time and rubs her stomach.” Celianne has been raped and impregnated by the soldiers who had come to her house to arrest her brother. During the voyage…