The Devil and Tom Walker Essay Example for Free

The Devil and Tom Walker Essay The Devil and Tom Walker is a cautionary tale about the result of greed and cruelty. The parable is filled with dark ruminations of nature, forbidding forests and secret, stolen wealth. 1 The proverb assumes the reader is familiar with Biblical terminology, such as Israel or ZionWalkers. These terms presume the reader is intimately familiar with Christianity. The story is precluded to a particular region, Boston and New England. This is an interesting tidbit, the proverb appears to be as familiar to Northerners as are the tales of Brer Rabbit are to Southerners. Each are filled with types of behavior and an ultimate moral conclusion. The aspects of nature in this story is an interesting aspect of American Romanticism. The forests are dark and danger is implied throughout the story. The description of Toms house as something of such pallor, of such demeanor to forbid strangers or travelers from coming near. Even the lone horse is described as decimated and longing for escape from this cruel entrapment. This type of treatment carries over, even when Tom achieves success. His greed only grows, as does his cruelty. The story continues in cautioning the reader in engaging in false Christianity. The life of Tom is filled with loneliness, cruelty, greed, and a form of religion that cannot offer solace to the insincere. The reader is assumed to have an intimate form of knowledge of Christianity. The terms Israel, the City of God and Zionwalkers those who at the least profess the faith of Christianity. The fable appears to take a negative aspect of Christianity, clearly warning the reader of any form of false religion. Although Tom begins to attend Sunday Service and carry his Bible in his pocket and even kept a bible on his workshop table. In the end the Bible is not a saving factor, left perhaps forgotten in the end in the heat of Tom greedily taking from the poor, an express sin in Biblical terms. This tale appears to have been known throughout New England. Quakers and Anabaptists1 are mentioned twice in the story. These two types of beliefs were considered exceptionally odd compared to the Puritan belief. The Quaker2 faith has always been considered strange, because of the way the faith is practiced. The Quakers are unusual in that those of this faith are extremely devoted in that these people of faith attempt to live out their faith through non violence and acts of contrition and charity. This is adverse of the Puritan faith which equates secular wealth with the blessings of God. 3, that is, one who is materially successful must be of or blessed by God and therefore destined for Heaven. The Anabaptists1 were considered unusual in that those of this faith acted independently from any type of hierarchical method of church administration. Anabaptists acted independently from any authority other than the believed hierarchy of God, that is there was nor could there be any authority higher than God alone. 3 The tale of Tom Walker and the Devil is very reminiscent of a story reminiscent of a book by Stephen King, Needful Things4, especially in the ending. Throughout the story the protagonist is described as being dark and gruff, which is also true of another story by Stephen King, The Stand. Stephen King of a New England background would have likely been very familiar with this very old story, this being so, his writing reflects the character of Old Scratch. In the ending of Needful Things the protagonist escapes via a horse drawn hearse, which takes easily to the air granting this creature or being immediate escape. The protagonist in both The Stand and Needful Things is described as ethereal, without any true form, but with the ability to take the form of that which is acceptable to the desired soul.

Concept of Anxiety by Soren Kierkegaard Essay -- Philosophy Soren Kier

The Moment and Inwardness I. Introduction In The Concept of Anxiety, Sï ¿ ½ren Kierkegaard deals with human anxiety about the possibility posed by freedom as it relates to sinfulness and spiritual progress. This paper will show that Kierkegaard?s concept of the moment and his prescription for inwardness, both in the context of spirituality, are connected. Importantly, inwardness depends on the moment and the possibility of transition that does not take place in time, transition that seems sudden if spotted from a temporal perspective. First, this paper will make sense of Kierkegaard?s concepts of time, eternity, and the moment, which will be an interpretation taken from his discussion at the first part of chapter three. Second, it will explain what his concept of inwardness is and what it means for human life, which will be based on text from chapter four, section two, subsection two (?Freedom Lost Pneumatically?). Finally, it will use those points to explain the connection between the moment and inwardness and then point o ut the importance of that connection. II. Time, Eternity, and the Moment Time and eternity are important concepts that correspond to the finite and infinite aspects of human life. Time is the realm occupied by the human body, the human psyche, and all worldly affairs. In everyday thought people spatialize the events in this finite realm in terms of the past, present, and future. Eternity is the realm of the spirit that synthesizes the body and psyche, and spirit is the aspect of human life that belongs to the infinite. Kierkegaard thinks of eternity strictly in an infinite sense and wants to avoid regarding as eternity the indefinite passing of time. The inspiring concept that begins in the analysis of ... ...s nature. One angle on this is that abstracting the moment from spirituality, namely, to focus on the temporal moment involving worldly affairs, is to prevent spiritual inwardness to be reached. Another angle is to understand that with spirit it is possible to understand the future with an immediate sense of its possibility to go about life as an earnest task, which means that one does not need to be anxious about the future and idly waiting for it to come in order to understand human possibility. Finally, it should be added that since spirituality is best regarded from the immediacy of the moment, understanding the moment helps one understand Kierkegaard?s goal in this work of preparing his readers for understanding the leap of faith. Bibliography Kierkegaard, Sï ¿ ½ren. The Concept of Anxiety. Trans. Reidar Thomte. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1980.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close Essay

There is no doubt that the book â€Å"Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close† by Jonathan Safranfoer focuses more on the story with Oskar, however it also includes a compelling side story of the life of the Grandfather. From reading the different events that occur throughout his years, the readers can sense a feeling of wrongdoing and reconciliation. The underlying story about the grandfather explains his reasoning behind his wrongdoing, what he did to commit to it, and his actions afterwards to reconcile on behalf of it. The early events of the grandfather’s life were complicated for him, and resulted in his mind being corrupt. Through the quote, â€Å"Does it break my heart, of course, every moment of every day, into more pieces than my heart was made of, I never thought of myself as quiet, much less silent† (Safranfoer 17), the seclusion between him and the world is starting to become noticeable. After suffering the loss of his first love, as well as his child, left him with an unbearable sadness so early in his life. This causes his views on living to be altered; as he thought of it as something that is a shame to partake in. His inability to even talk anymore; starting with the name â€Å"Anna† and slowly reducing to nothing, verifies that her death triggered his isolation. With that, he was left empty and reluctant to allow anyone to fill that void. Years after the Anna’s death, the grandfather started his relationship with the grandmother. Still isolating himself, he explained at the end of the book, his reasoning for leaving the grandmother prior through a conversation with Oskar, â€Å"‘How did he die’ ‘I lost him before he died’ ‘How? ‘I went away’ ‘Why? ’ He wrote, ‘I was afraid’ ‘Afraid of what? ’ ‘Afraid of losing him’† (Safranfoer 322). This is a strong quote explaining how the grandfather was too scared to love someone again. The rules that he and the grandmother placed with the something and nothing areas gave him his own type of comfort in continuing to live without Anna. When he learned of the grandmother’s pregnancy, he lost any remaining security that he has accumulated throughout the course of their relationship. His views on life and love were already corrupt as he was still broken from before, so with this, he remained confused on what to do. Unable to allow himself to open up and love another one of his children again, he left before he got the chance to. Contrarily, after leaving, the grandfather wrote multiple letters to the son that he never knew, which showed how ashamed he was of himself. However, due to his perspective on living, he feels that he was left with no other choice. This was an important moment when the grandfather was able to open up to the grandmother, which allowed the readers to gain an understanding of his true thoughts and feelings towards the events of his life. He lost something he never had. That is why he generated this chaos throughout his life. It hurt him, and although he does not specifically say that he wishes it did not happen, the tone expressed shows that he would have been better off without this suffering. To elaborate on that thought, one must put themselves in the grandfathers’ shoes. The person who he was in love with, who was also carrying his child, was killed in a war that was not even ideal to be a part of. Northrop Frye, author of ‘The Educated Imagination’ states, â€Å"What produces the tolerance is the power of detachment in the imagination, where things are removed just out of reach of belief and action â€Å"(Frye 46). For the readers, this seems like a common tragedy during the war, but to really hink deeply about the emotions of the people who lived through that misfortune portrays the grandfather in a different way. He had every right to feel the way he was feeling; war put many people in misery, for many different reasons, that revolved around the same topic, loss of a loved one. To live through that, and be expected to continue on with life conventionally is obscured. Frye explains that readers develop a tolerance when reading, but what must now be done is to learn to understand within the reach of belief and action. By being able to adapt to this deeper understanding, it is easier to understand the feelings going through the grandfather. Another way the reconciliation with the grandfather is seen is when Oskar confides in the grandfather; but to Oskar, is just the renter. After hearing the message recordings on the phone, the grandfather writes, in a letter to his son, â€Å"The message was cut off, you sounded so calm, you did not sound like someone who was about to die, I wish we could have sat across a table and talked about nothing for hours† (Safranfoer 281). Thinking from the grandfather’s perspective; he is listening to the voice of his son that he never met for the first time, right before the son is about to die. One could only imagine how traumatizing it would be to hear that. This encounter between Oskar and the grandfather was more of a rude awakening to the grandfather. He left his son before he could even meet him, and now, all he has left of him is the sound of his voice, minutes before he dies. The amount of regret within the grandfather is enormous; he is ashamed. By joining Oskar in digging up the casket, he puts the letters into it. This symbolizes his way of finally sending his son the letters. It is a way to put him at peace and finally reach out to his son. These events will always be a memory, but maybe now he can find a way to accept it and try ‘living’ in a new acceptable way. For the grandfather to experiences all these occasions, yet still confess to his mistakes, makes the underlying story about him an inspirational portion to the book. Having such a distressing event early in his life causes him to make mistakes and hurt the people who are significant to him, but in the end, he makes up for it; reconciles. In the world today, it is rare that someone who takes responsibility for their actions, and admits that they were wrong. The grandfather goes through such traumas in his life, and proves to be a strong, good-hearted man.

Different Ways Parents Choose For Children s Children

There are several different ways parents choose to educate their children. For example, parents can send their child to a public or private school, have their child take online classes, or they may choose to homeschool their child. One might ask why parents would choose to homeschool their child rather than send them to schooling in a traditional classroom. There are several reasons parents have claimed that homeschooling is the better option. A main reason parents may choose to homeschool is to protect their child. While protection of children is very important, how does keeping the child constrained to their own home prepare them for the world around them? In order for people to be aware of the dangers of this world, they must†¦show more content†¦It may instead cause the child to want to rebel and get away from the house rather than stay in the protection of the parents. When a child attends school they learn how to deal with issues in the world because they are confronte d with them daily. They discover ways to notice trouble or how to get out of situations that may not be good because they have the practice. If children are homeschooled, they do not get the practice they need to be prepared to face the world around them. Another reason parents may choose to homeschool is to protect their child from being bullied. Bullying is becoming a significant problem in the United States today. There are horrible stories on the news daily about teenagers being bullied for no reason at their school. Again, protecting children is very important, but children and teenagers need to learn to fend for themselves. They must be able to stand up for themselves in times of trouble. The only way they will develop the skills to stand up to bullies is to be around them. Bullies will not only be in elementary and high school. There are mean people everywhere: in the work force, on the subway, even in-laws can be bullies on occasion. When people grow up in the presence of pe ople that are not always kind, they learn how to deal with them. They learn techniques on how to not be bothered by the bully. They learn how to defend themselves in situations that it is necessary. If a parent decides to homeschool their