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The mood allows the reader to interject himself in the story. With word choice, imagery and tone, the writer develops a sad mood. For example, When Irving describes Tom's house: "They lived in a forlorn looking house, that stood alone and had an air of starvation. A few straggling savin trees, emblems of sterility, grew near it; no smoke ever curled from its chimney; no traveler stopped at its door. "(259). Words like forlorn-looking, alone, starvation, etc., give a really sad and lonely atmosphere and influence the reader's way of looking at Tom. Moreover, Irving describes Tom's horse using adjectives that gives feeling to the sentence: " A miserable horse, whose ribs were as articulate as the bars of a gridiron, stalked about a field where a thin carpet of moss, scarcely covering the ragged beds of pudding stone, tantalized and balked his hunger; and sometimes he would lean his head over the fence, look piteously at the passer by, and seem to petition deliverance from this land of famine"(259). The simile, word choice and tone of the passage give the reader a hint that the couple is ruthless and neglectful; readers won't mimic such people, so a lesson is learned. Also, in the end of the story when the devil takes Tom away, the writer uses some vivid words that show the mood: "The black man whisked him like a child into the saddle, gave the horse a lash, and away he galloped, with Tom on his back in the midst of
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Specifically, he uses omniscient point of view: "His reputation for a ready-moneyed man, who would lent money out for good consideration, soon spread aboard. Everybody remembers the time of Grovernor Blecher, when money was particularly scarce"(265). Words like everybody, people, nobody, etc., makes this a local issue that gives birth to a more universal problem: greed. Additionally, he uses a third person point of view to make the theme of his story have that broader appeal:" Thus Tom was the universal friend of the needy, and he acted like a "friend in need;" that is to say, he always exacted good pay and good security. In proportion to the distress of the applicant was the hardness of his terms. He accumulated bonds and mortgages; gradually squeezed his customers closer and closer; and sent them at length, dry as a sponge from his door"( ).The local problem is a stepping stone to present the universal; one, which is the subject of greed, science everyone is tempted by greed. Moreover, the narrator remains in omniscient point of view to make readers know what others think about Tom: "Her voice was often heard in wordy warfare with her husband; and his face sometimes showed signs that their conflicts were not confined to words. No one ventured, however, to interfere between them; the lonely wayfarer shrunk within himself at the horrid clamor and clapper clawing; eyed
Specifically, he uses omniscient point of view: "His reputation for a ready-moneyed man, who would lent money out for good consideration, soon spread aboard. Everybody remembers the time of Grovernor Blecher, when money was particularly scarce"(265). Words like everybody, people, nobody, etc., makes this a local issue that gives birth to a more universal problem: greed. Additionally, he uses a third person point of view to make the theme of his story have that broader appeal:" Thus Tom was the universal friend of the needy, and he acted like a "friend in need;" that is to say, he always exacted good pay and good security. In proportion to the distress of the applicant was the hardness of his terms. He accumulated bonds and mortgages; gradually squeezed his customers closer and closer; and sent them at length, dry as a sponge from his door"( ).The local problem is a stepping stone to present the universal; one, which is the subject of greed, science everyone is tempted by greed. Moreover, the narrator remains in omniscient point of view to make readers know what others think about Tom: "Her voice was often heard in wordy warfare with her husband; and his face sometimes showed signs that their conflicts were not confined to words. No one ventured, however, to interfere between them; the lonely wayfarer shrunk within himself at the horrid clamor and clapper clawing; eyed