Differences And Similarities Between Hawthorne And Tom Walker's

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Hawthorne and Irving Nathaniel Hawthorne and Washington Irving have views on death and the afterlife that are very similar; they both express these views in their short stories. Both authors also seem to express their feelings of staying away from indulgence and sin. They both hinted at spiritualism and repenting as a way to make it to the afterlife. Two of their short stories, Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” and Irving’s “The Devil and Tom Walker” are such stories. In this essay I will discuss the differences and similarities between the two stories. There are many similarities between the main characters in both stories. The devil tries to tempt both Tom Walker and Young Goodman Brown. In “Tom Walker and the Devil”, the devil tries to tempt Tom by using his greed as way to bargain for his soul. He tells Tom of a treasure that was buried out in the swamp by the pirate Kidd. He tells Tom that he will put the treasure in Tom’s hands if certain conditions are met. At first Tom tells the devil that he needs to think it over. In “Young Goodman Brown”, the devil tempts Goodman with stories of how the father and grandfather of Goodman…show more content…
In Tom Walker, both Tom and his wife are constantly arguing and always trying to cheat each other. They both also tried to make deals with the devil and had no qualms about doing so. Tom became very wealthy on the misfortunes of others that sought his help. In Goodman Brown we hear of how the elders of the church whispered wanton ideas into fair maiden’s ears. We are also told how women desperate to become widows would sometimes poison their husbands, letting them find eternal sleep in their arms. Both stories also mention the Salem witches, with the devil being the grand master in charge in both

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