Comparing Traveler's 'The Two Travelers'

“The Two Travelers” is about the tailor and the shoemaker, two people who are opposites in their ideals of faith and action. The tailor has faith, but does not use mercy to act on his faith and reward him. Only later, when the shoemaker shows the tailor life without faith, does the tailor realize faith and mercy are needed for a rewarding life. The tailor has faith in God, but learns that faith alone will not reward him in life. The tailor maintains faith in God on his trip and say to the shoemaker, “ ‘drag bread for seven days on one’s back like a beast of burden, and not to be able to look about. I shall trust in God, and not trouble myself about anything’ ” (The Two Travelers 487). The tailor’s faith allows him to believe in God to provide
The shoemaker is about to take out the tailor’s eye for payment. The shoemaker “who had driven God out of his heart, took the knife and put out his left eye” (490). The shoemaker lives without faith in God and that causes him to do terrible deeds without any regard to the tailor. Since the shoemaker has no mercy this means he has no faith because he chooses to drive God out of heart and take out the tailor’s eye. The shoemaker shows the tailor the terribleness of having no faith or mercy. Having neither will lead to a person just carelessly hurting someone who is kind to them and to not have moral obligations by faith, to feel the need for mercy. This is the reason the shoemaker does not really care that the tailor does not want him to put out his eye. Later on, when the shoemaker has to leave the town he goes to the forest and, “when he had closed his eyes and was about to sleep, the two crows flew down from the heads of the men who were hanging there, and pecked his eyes out” (496). The shoemaker’s punishment from being faithless and merciless is a parallel to the deed the shoemaker does to the tailor, which is why the crows make him blind. The crows peck out his eyes because the shoemaker has no faith in God which leads to him having no moral compass to tell him that taking someone’s eyes out is morally wrong. And since the shoemaker has not
The shoemaker’s lack of faith and mercy shows the tailor that the consequences of not having them will lead to injury and possibly death. Though, the shoemaker’s lack of faith and mercy when blinding the tailor teaches him that he needs both in his life. The tailor gains his eyesight back in front of the gallows and “when he heard that, he took his pocket-handkerchief, pressed it on the grass, and when it was moist with dew, washed the sockets of his eyes with it. Immediately was fulfilled what the man on the gallows had said, and a couple of healthy new eyes filled the sockets” (490). After the incident with the shoemaker, the tailor’s experience with the gallows teaches him about having mercy and faith. Because of the literal eye-opening experience the tailor comes to a revelation that he needs faith and mercy in his life. He comes to this conclusion when he sees the sinners hanging there, which are examples of a literal embodiment of being a sinner and being merciless. The sinners influence him in his revelation that he needs to be merciful and faithful to not be a complete sinner and end up like them or the shoemaker, who is faithless and merciless. With the knowledge of the shoemaker’s consequences of being faithless and merciless, the revelation of not wanting to be a sinner, and his consequences of solely relying on faith, which leads to his