Commonly recognized milestones in human life are birth, growth, reproduction, and death. In reality, life is much more incredibly complex than this. There are so many minute nuances that make the human experience what it is. Each individual’s life is a delicate combination of many experiences: accomplishments along with failures, friends turning to enemies, and love ending with heartbreak. Since the beginning of civilization, using art as a medium, people constantly seek to express their perspective on this phenomena while trying to understand it. In literature, countless authors touch on a particular recurring cycle in humanity: people’s susceptibility to greed in life, and the search for reclamation after the consequences.
Many works of literature express how greed recurs as a deeply rooted trait in humans. Washington Irving’s, “The Devil and Tom Walker” makes a quite controversial statement for its time on this theme. All through the beginning, Irving reiterates that Tom is a strong and “fearless” hardworking man who lives a meager life. Tom’s family has just enough to survive. Irving paints the Walker home as “ a forlorn-looking house that stood alone and had an air of starvation.” Irving makes note that the Walkers have do not have much money, but he also makes it obvious that they are doing alright for the “hard times” the …show more content…
In the stories of “The Devil and Tom Walker”, “The Black Cat”, and “Fences”, this remains true. Humans find themselves often caught in situations where they must choose between being honest or selfish. Many times people want more and more, regardless of the fact they might already have just enough. Whether it’s power, money, or love, people constantly want it all. The importance is understanding that when it comes to greed, it is easy to fall deep into the gallows of
Many works of literature express how greed recurs as a deeply rooted trait in humans. Washington Irving’s, “The Devil and Tom Walker” makes a quite controversial statement for its time on this theme. All through the beginning, Irving reiterates that Tom is a strong and “fearless” hardworking man who lives a meager life. Tom’s family has just enough to survive. Irving paints the Walker home as “ a forlorn-looking house that stood alone and had an air of starvation.” Irving makes note that the Walkers have do not have much money, but he also makes it obvious that they are doing alright for the “hard times” the …show more content…
In the stories of “The Devil and Tom Walker”, “The Black Cat”, and “Fences”, this remains true. Humans find themselves often caught in situations where they must choose between being honest or selfish. Many times people want more and more, regardless of the fact they might already have just enough. Whether it’s power, money, or love, people constantly want it all. The importance is understanding that when it comes to greed, it is easy to fall deep into the gallows of