Examples Of Greed In The Devil And Tom Walker
When a character sells their soul to Satan in a narrative, it is often for receiving something that is usually unachievable, for example, riches, reviving of loved ones, or some other objective of value. But in the end, the soul is usually sent to eternal torment, leaving a lot of troubled people in the wake of destruction behind the damned soul. In Washington Irving’s “The Devil and Tom Walker”, Tom Walker sells his soul to “Old Scratch” (the Devil) as a means of receiving Pirate Kidd’s lost treasure that will fulfill his greedy lust of money. He is so consumed with greed that not only does he refuse to share basic sustenance with his wife earlier in the story, and he also volunteers to more than the devil asks of him. For example:
Devil:
“You shall lend money at two percent a month”
Tom: “Egad, I’ll charge four!”
Tom’s greed drives many to bankruptcy, corrupts his soul, and is well represented in the appearance of his home and horses.
In the motion picture “Snowhite and the Huntsman”, Queen Raveena “Sold her soul” (Cast a spell) THat gave her the ability to be forever young and powerful. This power was only fuelled by the feasting on the beauty and youth of other young women. Her hatred of men in general as controlling and heartless, as well as her hunger for power and beauty, justified in her mind the atrocities that she committed. Her greed and power was to be the driving force behind the deaths of many, and her evil was so pure it killed the environment around her area of effect. As Snowhite became more and more fair (why did the Queen keep Snowhite alive to start with) It was foretold that Raveena would be forced to kill Snowhite for eternal power and beauty. When she attempted to take the life of Snowhite she was killed, by a dagger to the stomach. These two tales show that in a fiction work, selling a soul to Satan can ruin lives, leave a wake of harm and destruction, and ultimately end with a regretful spirit in the the depths of Hell. Both examples given above display a misfortunate end (or fortunate, depending your viewpoint) to the situation in which one sells their soul to Old Lucifer.
Devil:
“You shall lend money at two percent a month”
Tom: “Egad, I’ll charge four!”
Tom’s greed drives many to bankruptcy, corrupts his soul, and is well represented in the appearance of his home and horses.
In the motion picture “Snowhite and the Huntsman”, Queen Raveena “Sold her soul” (Cast a spell) THat gave her the ability to be forever young and powerful. This power was only fuelled by the feasting on the beauty and youth of other young women. Her hatred of men in general as controlling and heartless, as well as her hunger for power and beauty, justified in her mind the atrocities that she committed. Her greed and power was to be the driving force behind the deaths of many, and her evil was so pure it killed the environment around her area of effect. As Snowhite became more and more fair (why did the Queen keep Snowhite alive to start with) It was foretold that Raveena would be forced to kill Snowhite for eternal power and beauty. When she attempted to take the life of Snowhite she was killed, by a dagger to the stomach. These two tales show that in a fiction work, selling a soul to Satan can ruin lives, leave a wake of harm and destruction, and ultimately end with a regretful spirit in the the depths of Hell. Both examples given above display a misfortunate end (or fortunate, depending your viewpoint) to the situation in which one sells their soul to Old Lucifer.