I believe Tom Walker was not purely evil. Even though he had pacts with the devil, he regret some things. Tom missed his wife afterwards and most important of all he read the bible everyday. He was just blinded by the greediness he had. He tried to save himself by reading the bible and looked for salvation and for Gods forgiveness.
Tom Walker was not purely evil, i think he was actually both because it never was as bad as they describe when they are talking about the relationship between him and his wife. He was bad with her because she made him like that, all those years with her and her abusing him , made him hate her thats why most people may think he was evil. Also when he saw that his wife was missing he got worried for her ( good side) , but also he was worried because she took all the valuable things they owned. And after selling his soul to the devil and getting rich with the money of other, he felt bad aswell and started reading the bible and prayed to good for salvation and for forgiveness.
I believe that Tom Walker WAS a bad guy and not just because he made a deal with the devil. In the story, he was worried for his things more than for his own wife,even when she was dead it said that he mourned for the loss of his possesions more than her, he let his greed get the best of him, and after the deal was made he was scared and thought that acting as if he felt sorry for the things he had done would make it all better, he thought that he could keep his deal with the devil and still get out of going to hell. He was a coward and a hypocrite. All this being said, i believe that that EVIL is a strong word, but in this case i think it fits.
Arantxa: I do not agree with you. A person can not be MADE to act a certain way, everyone has a choice. Just because a person had a bad experience or childhood, does thta make it ok for them to become a murderer or a rapist? No it doesn't. Also I would like to point out that he did NOT feel bad but was scared to go to hell which like I said is not a good thing, it makes him a person who cannot face the well deserved consequences of his actions.
Samantha, I know that he was selfish and only cared of himself. I believe he had some reasons for not wanting his wife. She was mean to him and to everyone, even to the devil, she hit and fight with him just as he fight with Tom. Even though he made very evil things and he was greedy and selfish he is not entirely evil. He read the bible and felt regret for some acts he did, he even missed his wife in a time.
Lyanne, I can understand your point, but just as a good person doing a bad thing doesn't make them a bad person, a bad person doing a good thing doesn't make them a good person.
Samantha: people do change and it is possible that Tom walker changed, he turned bad when he sold his soul to the devil, but he still had good in him because prayed to god and wanted salvation.
i believe that tom walker was purely evil for the following reasons. he cared more for the material things rather than his wife, which is supposed to be THE most important person in his life. although, i can understand the type of person his wife was and the things she made, but that doesnt take out the fact that he is supposed to choose his wife above all. also, tom walker was a very greedy person, since he bought a house but did not furnish it and had a horse but did not feed him. some people might think that just because of the fact that he read the bible, went to church and prayed he was saved from being evil. he is not, he might have been if he did all those things and stopped doing the evil things he did, but he didnt, he prayed and then went back on doing the same things he did before.
arantxa: tom walker's wife might have made him that way in a sense, but the part of reading the bible and praying for foregivness and salvation is not entirely true. yes, i agree he did pray and read the bible, but because of the fact that he knew that if he didnt he was going to be taken by the devil, otherwise he wouldnt have done it. also he prayed and read the bible, but afterwards he did the same awful things he did before, so he really didnt regret anything he made.
Well, if a person is bad and evil he can still change by making good deeds. I believe that a bad person that make good things can change and become a better person. Tom Walker could of done evil things, but deep inside he had a fine heart. The author gives you some details of this in the story. You could see him reading the bible and also missing his wife in a time even though he was miserable with her.
Marcel, I don't agree with you because his wife, "the most important person in his life" like you said, was the meanest person with him. I agree with him when he worries more about the valuable things than about her. She was the evil one, she hit him and maltreated him always. Also, Tom had nothing before, so he was cheap because he didn't want to feel as he was loosing it all, he didn't knew better than that. Maybe power and wealth for him was having the actual money, not having things that represent it. All of us have a bad and mean side, I know I have, but that doesn't make us purely evil. I am cheap at times and I am selfish too, but I don't consider myself evil.
Arantxa and Lyanne: I think you mistake being cowardly for changing. He didn't change, when he was 'praying to God for salvation' he was trying to avoid the concequences of his actions. If he had really changed he wouldn't have kept keeping up his part of the deal. Doing something bad and asking for forgiveness and then doing the same thing over and over again is not becoming a better person it is pure stupidity and hipocracy.
Actually Samantha I believe Tom had a reason for being how he was. I know that doing pacts with the devil is wrong, but maybe he was so miserable he had no other choice. He had nothing left, his mean wife had taken everything and never came back, she was gone. I know he was hypocrite, selfish, greedy and all the negative qualities you want to put him, but he believed in God. If he or anyone believes in God and that God is the salvation I think they can't be purely evil.
Lyanne: while I respect your opinion, and of course, you have a point, I do not agree. Yeah, ok, his wife was a little on the unbearable side, so what? I do recall the story mentioning that he wasn't all sunshine and rainbows either. As they say it takes two to tango, and if he was in a sucky marriage, well fine, but making a deal with the devil? no, not the only way out of it. Also, in regards to him believing in God, it was a last attempt at saving his butt, not because he 'believed'.
LYANNE: i understand, as i said before, that his wife was not the most caring, loving nor NORMAL person in the world, but if tom walker couldn't stand her, the solution for this problem was not making a deal with the devil. also, its alright to not want everything to go away, meaning the money, but starving a horse just because you dont want to give a little bit more money, is not the right way to do this. you might not want to lose money by buying a very expensive pair of jeans you really like, but getting involved with the health of a horse is just mean, cruel and evil.
I don't think Tom Walker is entirely evil. He acts the way he does because of the environment he grew in. He lived in a house full of evil and lies. This kind of unhealthy surroundings doesn’t help a person have a healthy mind. Where and how a person lives greatly affects the way the person is. We cant expect that a person who lived in a miserable house with his wife shouting at him every single moment and hitting him when she felt like it be a normal or good person. Tom Walker grew in an unhealthy environment and that is why he does the things he does. Making a pact with the devil doesn’t seem wrong to him because he has seen WORST things than that. Even though he doesn’t fully regret he starts reading the bible and maybe this is the start for him regretting everything he has done.
Marcel: Tom Walker does bad things, but he does them not knowing that they are bad, he is used to see those things because his wife does worst things. He may be bad because of the things he does but he is not THAT bad because he does those things not knowing how bad they are.
Adrianna: How in the world do you not know that making a deal with the devil is bad? I believe its common knowledge devil= bad. Even for someone thats been in a bad situation. Also, when his wife AGREED about selling his soul to the devil, he decided not to just to disagree, so even though his wife was bad he wasn't so great anyway with or without her.
Marcel, I'm not denying the fact that he WAS evil, there's no doubt on that, but I do believe that anyone in fully evil. For you to be fully evil you have to be the devil itself. Tom had feelings and at times cared about things.
I believe he was once a good man, but is no longer. Some people might say that he was not purely evil because he didn't want to win money through slaves, yet he still got the money through a dirty and dishonest way. Although he was poor and always being oppressed by his wife ( who got killed by her greed) those were no reasons to sell his soul to the devil. Some people might also say that at least he repent of his actions, yet the damage was done and he had been cruel to many people for his own benefit. Not to mention that he mourned more for the lost of his possessions than the death of his wife. That is evidence of pure evil.
Lyanne, Although he looked for god's salvation that doesn't make him a good man. He sinned against the will of god when he made the pact with the devil and destroyed the life's of many people for his own benefit. Repent in this case is of no good. How could you not call a man who was almost happy that his wife had been murdered by the devil an evil man.
I think Tom Walker is not purely evil because although he treats people bad, it doesn't mean you are a bad person. Tom acts like this first because he doesn't have someone to tell him what's right or wrong, and Second because he is lost in life, he doesn't know what to do and he only thinks of money. I believe he did a pact with the devil just for money, not because he really wanted to. People do things because of a reason, that's why I believe nobody is evil.
Marcel i do not agree with you. i know Tom didnt treat his wife the right way or he didnt furnish his house, and treated others in a bad way, but as i said nobody is evil. tom didn't know what was right or wrong, he did things for money because he was desperate. a person who is desperate does not think when he has to. i understand that by him reading the bible, or praying doesnt mean his in salvation, but as i said before he was alone and desperate.
Javier, I'm not saying that he was a GOOD man, I'm just saying he wasn't PURELY evil. Everybody do something wrong at times, some sins are worst than others, but that doesn't make us purely evil. Tom Walker made a big mistake by making the pact and other things, but he had a good side. He had feelings and believed in God. I think this save him of being fully evil.
Tom Walker wasn't purely evil. He was a bad man who made wrong desisions but that doesn't make him purely evil. People think he didn't care about his wife, but he actually did. In a time he missed her and her presence. He was also deboted to God and prayed during the day. I know he made a pact with the devil and cared more about the material stuff, but parts of him were good, because of this he can't be categorized as a pure evil person.
Javier I disagree with you when you say Tom Walker was purely evil. The things you said are true, but you're only seing one part of him. You are not taking in consideration the fact that he prays and eventhough he disliked his wife because she was mean to him, deep inside he did care of her and missed her. A man who have these qualities can be bad and sometimes evil, but not purely evil.
I believe that Tom Walker is purely evil beacuse even though he repented and started praying and going to chourc, he agreed on doing the pact with the devil on the first time. I mean he turned evil once he agreed on the devil's deal, for me if you want to be good, never agree in something with the devil himself.
You know what Tony I do not agree with you because you say that he was not purely evil. I disagree with you because even though that he started reading the bible and even lamented the death of her wife, he made the pact with the devil and that caused the death of her wife and his life as a wealthy, but unhappy and greedy person.
Ernesto, I will have to disagree with you. You can sin and still be good. All of us sin, even the Pope and the greates and purest person you know sin. Tom Wlaker sinned and mada an awful deal, that was his mistake, but that does't make him fully evil. The only one that can have that title would be the devil itself.
Ernesto I saw you responded in my comment. Well, I know that reading the bible doesn't fix things up, but he regreted the deal he made, inside he repented and disliked the idea of having a deal with the devil. He knew that if he keep up with that he will go directly to hell. He was a selfish and egosentric man who loved money and power, that's bad too, but it doesn't make him fully evil. He had some good parts too as you saw I stated in my comment.
Yeah Tony, I know that everyone sins and makes mistakes, but to sin and make a deal directly with the devil is unforgivable. I'd rather be poor and happy that wealthy and a sinner of that kind. That is why I'm going to keep disagreeing with you no matter what you say.
I believe Tom Waker was not purely evil. Nobody is purely evil. Things around make do things evil and do things that later on you regret them. Tom was in a situation were he was desperate and was willing to do anything to come out of the situation he was in. As a consequence Tom had to sell his soul, stop his emotions and lived as a cold hearted man. Many other people have done these in life, but the thing that really matter is that at the end you regret what you did and try the best you can to do good, and Tom did look for forgiveness and try to redeem his act through salvation.
I don't think Tom Walker was purely evil. Even though he sold his soul to the devil and never really regretted doing it (only its consequences), he did it not because he was wicked by nature, but because he was desperate of the life he lived. He thought that by selling his soul he might have a chance of a better life, which it improved in a way (remember he hated his wife) but he was still going to hell, so what's the point?
SAMANTHA: I don't completely agree with you. It is true he cared more for his possessions than his own wife, BUT HE HAD HIS REASONS. I mean, the wife was the devil in flesh! She abused him and he never did anything back to her!
JAVIER AUDE: I don't completely agree with you because the wife made Tom's life a living hell, so not mourning her isn't really being evil, it just meant relief.
It's very controversial the fact that Tom Walker maybe purely evil or not. It is because we see Tom as the one that made a treaty with the devil and the one that fooled poor people to win more money, and that makes him evil. But I believe he is not PURELY evil because at the end he at least thought of a way to redeem himself, he was actually a little worried that his wife was missing although for the wrong reason, but also because he didn't know any better, he was living in this miserable world that the author described , with a miserable wife, with no money, so he acted upon desperation. Although it's true that what he did was wrong but his intentions weren't that bad.
Ernesto: I have to say that I don't agree with you completely. Making a pact directly with the devil is evil that's true, but tom walker didn't have bad intentions, he sought that as the only solution for his desperation and miserable life! You can't blame him in his position, so he agreeing to that pact, yeah it kind of makes him evil, but not purely evil. I believe no one is purely evil.
I believe Tom Walker was not completely evil, because he didn't accept to become a slave merchant and he even read the bible daily, yes, he did make a pact with the devil but he never actually changed who he really was because he became richer, he still handled the money the same sparing way he would've.
Javier, you may say he is evil now, because he got his money through a dishonest way. I don't agree with you, because loaning money is not dirty business, it is just not affordble even though many think they have a chance to escape pay.
Ernesto i have to disagree with you. Sometimes desperation makes you do things that, and blinds you completely. At the state he was in he had to accept it. the good thing was that he was able to notice it and try his best correct that and that what counts at the end.
in my opinion, i think that tom walker was not purley evil. he was just misguided and got carried away by the material things instead of whats in your heart. even though he made a pact with the devil, he still read his bible every day and he missed his wife.
MARCEL: i disagree with your opinion, just because tom walker made a big mistake doesnt mean that he is evil. he regretted everything he did, and he try to get forgiven by God, thats why he read the bible.
Well Maria Cristina, I agree with your opinion that he wasn't fully evil. I just don't agree with the facts you put to support them. You will also have to take in consideration that he finally cared about his wife, missed her and deep inside loved her. He also prayed and looked for salvation in Gods eyes
Any person is never purely evil or good. Therefore, Tom walker was not purely evil; still he was mostly evil. The only part were he had shown a good side of him was when he had rejected his first task: becoming a slave trader. It gave us a sense of moral within this man. Still as the story continues, the reader's opinion might change. Though Tom Walker had had a miserable and pitiful life, it didn't give him the right to treat others like he had done: taking everything they had when they couldn't pay back the money they had borrowed. He was rich enough, still he wanted more and more. At some point, he becomes aware of his evilness and he "regrets" having done the pact with the devil, which he had done only to gain treasures. He shows his "repent" when he starts to read the bible, and carries it with him. Still, we see that he is just a hypocrite; he is just scared to go to hell for what he did. This we know because he keeps doing the task that the devil gave him instead of stoping and ending the pact. He continues doing wrong and on the other hand, he carries a bible trying to show repentness. But he is a fraud, he is evil.
Cristina: He may have some good within him, but he acted that way his heart thought. His possessions were more important to him than his own wife. He even gave his soul to gain such treasures the devil promised. This may show that he had no hope within himself, and that he believed it would be better if his soul belonged to someone else. Still, later he was just scared to go to hell, so he started reading the bible and acting "good", but his heart still belonged to the treasures he was getting. He kept doing the dirty job he was given, showing us that he did not truly repent as he tried to show.
Elaine: I understand your point of view. But at this times remember they were Puritans, they didn't have the same view of the world and society as we have now, so everybody that sinned was evil for them. Tom Walker had no excuse to make a pact with the devil and nothing will save him from that. How can you explain this?
After reading the story, The Devil and Tom Walker, I have come to the conclusion that Tom Walker is not purely evil. Yes he is greedy and selfish, but that doesn’t make him entirely an entirely evil person. Tom Walker lived a very miserable life, with an awful wife and no money, which made him a greedy person. Yet, throughout his actions in the story it is noticeable that he is not pure evil but has some good within him. An example of this good is the way in which he treats the people to whom he loans money too, yes he is strict with the fulfillment of their deal but that is business. Except for his strict manner in business, he is very friendly to the townspeople, he even becomes close to some. It would have been expected him to become a snob, and start treating the poor as inferiors now that he was rich, taking into considerations how he used to live. However he didn’t and that proves he is not purely evil but has some good within him.
Memo: I do not agree with you with many things you have said. You said things make people evil, but really how can things make people evil? They are just simply things, what I think does make people evil is when their competitiveness, and ambitions. They themselves become evil on their own with their actions, when they lose the true meaning of things such as their ambitions and goals and confuse them with greed and avarice. When people mistaken loves true meaning and commit unlawful acts in its name, that’s when people truly become evil and is not a thing that makes them this way but their own selves. Another thing in which I don’t agree with you is that you say that Tom Walker regretted what he had done and tried to redeem himself, because I don’t think he really regretted his actions and having taking that money from the people but just the pact with the devil. He regretted the pact because he was afraid of what it could bring to him, but he truly didn’t redeem himself completely because even though he started reading the bible, going to church and praying to God, he never really did change his actions. Tom Walker continued to be his old self; the only difference is that he had a bible.
Carla i think youre right, as i was telling samantha people can change and they are no entirely evil. Tom walker wasnt purely evil because as you said the way in which he treats the people to whom he loans money too, yes he is strict with the fulfillment of their deal but that is business.
i dont really agree with you carla he didnt come close with some people what he cared about was his money and how he lived his life /how he used the money
wanda, you have to understand that him acting that way was reflecting his own life. It was not his fault he had to live so miserable with a horrible wife; thus, we cant say that he had no morals, he was just not taught about them. The fact that he was greedy and selfish were just defects that he, being a human, had. Now, the way he tried to repent after having done the pact, it gave a sense of goodness within him.
ARANTXA: i know he had been affected by that pitiful life he had. Still, I believe every human knows or has a certain understanding about what is right and what is wrong. Tom Walker knew that pretending to be repentful was not going to make him change if he did not want to change. He preferred to continue living the way he did, and earning treasures like he was doing; his heart was more into getting rich than to prevent his soul from going to hell. Though he knew this, he continued doing such wrong acts, and that's were I define him as an evil person.
Carla: When i say things make you evil because those things tempt you. The lack of money, the false pursuit of happiness those things make you fall into the hand of evil. If money wasn't a problem people wouldn't steal. When the need of something is present, the need to fulfill it will always be there.
In my opinion, very few people are truly evil. Not many people do evil things just because they like to do what is wrong, they do it because they think it is right for any kind of reason. However, Tom Walker seemed to be one of those people. He made the deal with the devil knowing that he would go to hell and do terrible things to others and he simply did not care.
i do not think Tom Walker is completely evil, because he sometimes misses his wife, and prays and reads the bible, and i think that it was actually his wife who transformed him into what he is now, or what he was... i think that his wifes abuses and greediness, selfishness, made him turn into the greedy and kind of evil person he is from beggining to end of the STORY.
sorry for posting this late, i thought it was for NEXT week XD
Manuel, i disagree with what you say about Tom Walker about being totally evil, yes, he was very greedy and did not think of many people, if any, but he does miss his wife and he read the bible.
I disagree with you, Coki. Tom Walker knew what he was doing when he made the deal with the devil. It is true that the misery that pushed him to do it was in part caused by his wife, but Tom Walker should have just left her instead of what he did. He does not miss her, and I don't know where you saw that in the story.
As you say, Coki, he was very greedy and thought only about himself. Still, I do not think that he really missed his wife. He did feel a twinge of regret at losing his wife, but that was merely a natural reaction that he ignored thereafter. Also, the only reason he prayed was for his own salvation, a greedy and selfish reason on its own.
75 comments:
I believe Tom Walker was not purely evil. Even though he had pacts with the devil, he regret some things. Tom missed his wife afterwards and most important of all he read the bible everyday. He was just blinded by the greediness he had. He tried to save himself by reading the bible and looked for salvation and for Gods forgiveness.
Tom Walker was not purely evil, i think he was actually both because it never was as bad as they describe when they are talking about the relationship between him and his wife. He was bad with her because she made him like that, all those years with her and her abusing him , made him hate her thats why most people may think he was evil. Also when he saw that his wife was missing he got worried for her ( good side) , but also he was worried because she took all the valuable things they owned.
And after selling his soul to the devil and getting rich with the money of other, he felt bad aswell and started reading the bible and prayed to good for salvation and for forgiveness.
I believe that Tom Walker WAS a bad guy and not just because he made a deal with the devil. In the story, he was worried for his things more than for his own wife,even when she was dead it said that he mourned for the loss of his possesions more than her, he let his greed get the best of him, and after the deal was made he was scared and thought that acting as if he felt sorry for the things he had done would make it all better, he thought that he could keep his deal with the devil and still get out of going to hell. He was a coward and a hypocrite. All this being said, i believe that that EVIL is a strong word, but in this case i think it fits.
Arantxa: I do not agree with you. A person can not be MADE to act a certain way, everyone has a choice. Just because a person had a bad experience or childhood, does thta make it ok for them to become a murderer or a rapist? No it doesn't. Also I would like to point out that he did NOT feel bad but was scared to go to hell which like I said is not a good thing, it makes him a person who cannot face the well deserved consequences of his actions.
Samantha, I know that he was selfish and only cared of himself. I believe he had some reasons for not wanting his wife. She was mean to him and to everyone, even to the devil, she hit and fight with him just as he fight with Tom.
Even though he made very evil things and he was greedy and selfish he is not entirely evil. He read the bible and felt regret for some acts he did, he even missed his wife in a time.
Lyanne, I can understand your point, but just as a good person doing a bad thing doesn't make them a bad person, a bad person doing a good thing doesn't make them a good person.
Samantha: people do change and it is possible that Tom walker changed, he turned bad when he sold his soul to the devil, but he still had good in him because prayed to god and wanted salvation.
i believe that tom walker was purely evil for the following reasons. he cared more for the material things rather than his wife, which is supposed to be THE most important person in his life. although, i can understand the type of person his wife was and the things she made, but that doesnt take out the fact that he is supposed to choose his wife above all. also, tom walker was a very greedy person, since he bought a house but did not furnish it and had a horse but did not feed him. some people might think that just because of the fact that he read the bible, went to church and prayed he was saved from being evil. he is not, he might have been if he did all those things and stopped doing the evil things he did, but he didnt, he prayed and then went back on doing the same things he did before.
arantxa: tom walker's wife might have made him that way in a sense, but the part of reading the bible and praying for foregivness and salvation is not entirely true. yes, i agree he did pray and read the bible, but because of the fact that he knew that if he didnt he was going to be taken by the devil, otherwise he wouldnt have done it. also he prayed and read the bible, but afterwards he did the same awful things he did before, so he really didnt regret anything he made.
Well, if a person is bad and evil he can still change by making good deeds. I believe that a bad person that make good things can change and become a better person. Tom Walker could of done evil things, but deep inside he had a fine heart. The author gives you some details of this in the story. You could see him reading the bible and also missing his wife in a time even though he was miserable with her.
Marcel, I don't agree with you because his wife, "the most important person in his life" like you said, was the meanest person with him. I agree with him when he worries more about the valuable things than about her. She was the evil one, she hit him and maltreated him always.
Also, Tom had nothing before, so he was cheap because he didn't want to feel as he was loosing it all, he didn't knew better than that. Maybe power and wealth for him was having the actual money, not having things that represent it.
All of us have a bad and mean side, I know I have, but that doesn't make us purely evil. I am cheap at times and I am selfish too, but I don't consider myself evil.
Arantxa and Lyanne: I think you mistake being cowardly for changing. He didn't change, when he was 'praying to God for salvation' he was trying to avoid the concequences of his actions. If he had really changed he wouldn't have kept keeping up his part of the deal. Doing something bad and asking for forgiveness and then doing the same thing over and over again is not becoming a better person it is pure stupidity and hipocracy.
Actually Samantha I believe Tom had a reason for being how he was. I know that doing pacts with the devil is wrong, but maybe he was so miserable he had no other choice. He had nothing left, his mean wife had taken everything and never came back, she was gone. I know he was hypocrite, selfish, greedy and all the negative qualities you want to put him, but he believed in God. If he or anyone believes in God and that God is the salvation I think they can't be purely evil.
Lyanne: while I respect your opinion, and of course, you have a point, I do not agree. Yeah, ok, his wife was a little on the unbearable side, so what? I do recall the story mentioning that he wasn't all sunshine and rainbows either. As they say it takes two to tango, and if he was in a sucky marriage, well fine, but making a deal with the devil? no, not the only way out of it. Also, in regards to him believing in God, it was a last attempt at saving his butt, not because he 'believed'.
LYANNE: i understand, as i said before, that his wife was not the most caring, loving nor NORMAL person in the world, but if tom walker couldn't stand her, the solution for this problem was not making a deal with the devil. also, its alright to not want everything to go away, meaning the money, but starving a horse just because you dont want to give a little bit more money, is not the right way to do this. you might not want to lose money by buying a very expensive pair of jeans you really like, but getting involved with the health of a horse is just mean, cruel and evil.
I don't think Tom Walker is entirely evil. He acts the way he does because of the environment he grew in. He lived in a house full of evil and lies. This kind of unhealthy surroundings doesn’t help a person have a healthy mind. Where and how a person lives greatly affects the way the person is. We cant expect that a person who lived in a miserable house with his wife shouting at him every single moment and hitting him when she felt like it be a normal or good person. Tom Walker grew in an unhealthy environment and that is why he does the things he does. Making a pact with the devil doesn’t seem wrong to him because he has seen WORST things than that. Even though he doesn’t fully regret he starts reading the bible and maybe this is the start for him regretting everything he has done.
Marcel: Tom Walker does bad things, but he does them not knowing that they are bad, he is used to see those things because his wife does worst things. He may be bad because of the things he does but he is not THAT bad because he does those things not knowing how bad they are.
Adrianna: How in the world do you not know that making a deal with the devil is bad? I believe its common knowledge devil= bad. Even for someone thats been in a bad situation. Also, when his wife AGREED about selling his soul to the devil, he decided not to just to disagree, so even though his wife was bad he wasn't so great anyway with or without her.
Marcel, I'm not denying the fact that he WAS evil, there's no doubt on that, but I do believe that anyone in fully evil. For you to be fully evil you have to be the devil itself. Tom had feelings and at times cared about things.
I believe he was once a good man, but is no longer. Some people might say that he was not purely evil because he didn't want to win money through slaves, yet he still got the money through a dirty and dishonest way. Although he was poor and always being oppressed by his wife ( who got killed by her greed) those were no reasons to sell his soul to the devil. Some people might also say that at least he repent of his actions, yet the damage was done and he had been cruel to many people for his own benefit. Not to mention that he mourned more for the lost of his possessions than the death of his wife. That is evidence of pure evil.
Lyanne,
Although he looked for god's salvation that doesn't make him a good man. He sinned against the will of god when he made the pact with the devil and destroyed the life's of many people for his own benefit. Repent in this case is of no good. How could you not call a man who was almost happy that his wife had been murdered by the devil an evil man.
I think Tom Walker is not purely evil because although he treats people bad, it doesn't mean you are a bad person. Tom acts like this first because he doesn't have someone to tell him what's right or wrong, and Second because he is lost in life, he doesn't know what to do and he only thinks of money. I believe he did a pact with the devil just for money, not because he really wanted to. People do things because of a reason, that's why I believe nobody is evil.
Marcel i do not agree with you. i know Tom didnt treat his wife the right way or he didnt furnish his house, and treated others in a bad way, but as i said nobody is evil. tom didn't know what was right or wrong, he did things for money because he was desperate. a person who is desperate does not think when he has to. i understand that by him reading the bible, or praying doesnt mean his in salvation, but as i said before he was alone and desperate.
Javier, I'm not saying that he was a GOOD man, I'm just saying he wasn't PURELY evil. Everybody do something wrong at times, some sins are worst than others, but that doesn't make us purely evil. Tom Walker made a big mistake by making the pact and other things, but he had a good side. He had feelings and believed in God. I think this save him of being fully evil.
Tom Walker wasn't purely evil. He was a bad man who made wrong desisions but that doesn't make him purely evil. People think he didn't care about his wife, but he actually did. In a time he missed her and her presence. He was also deboted to God and prayed during the day. I know he made a pact with the devil and cared more about the material stuff, but parts of him were good, because of this he can't be categorized as a pure evil person.
Javier
I disagree with you when you say Tom Walker was purely evil. The things you said are true, but you're only seing one part of him. You are not taking in consideration the fact that he prays and eventhough he disliked his wife because she was mean to him, deep inside he did care of her and missed her. A man who have these qualities can be bad and sometimes evil, but not purely evil.
I believe that Tom Walker is purely evil beacuse even though he repented and started praying and going to chourc, he agreed on doing the pact with the devil on the first time. I mean he turned evil once he agreed on the devil's deal, for me if you want to be good, never agree in something with the devil himself.
You know what Tony I do not agree with you because you say that he was not purely evil. I disagree with you because even though that he started reading the bible and even lamented the death of her wife, he made the pact with the devil and that caused the death of her wife and his life as a wealthy, but unhappy and greedy person.
Ernesto, I will have to disagree with you. You can sin and still be good. All of us sin, even the Pope and the greates and purest person you know sin. Tom Wlaker sinned and mada an awful deal, that was his mistake, but that does't make him fully evil. The only one that can have that title would be the devil itself.
Ernesto
I saw you responded in my comment. Well, I know that reading the bible doesn't fix things up, but he regreted the deal he made, inside he repented and disliked the idea of having a deal with the devil. He knew that if he keep up with that he will go directly to hell. He was a selfish and egosentric man who loved money and power, that's bad too, but it doesn't make him fully evil. He had some good parts too as you saw I stated in my comment.
Yeah Tony, I know that everyone sins and makes mistakes, but to sin and make a deal directly with the devil is unforgivable. I'd rather be poor and happy that wealthy and a sinner of that kind. That is why I'm going to keep disagreeing with you no matter what you say.
I believe Tom Waker was not purely evil. Nobody is purely evil. Things around make do things evil and do things that later on you regret them. Tom was in a situation were he was desperate and was willing to do anything to come out of the situation he was in. As a consequence Tom had to sell his soul, stop his emotions and lived as a cold hearted man. Many other people have done these in life, but the thing that really matter is that at the end you regret what you did and try the best you can to do good, and Tom did look for forgiveness and try to redeem his act through salvation.
I don't think Tom Walker was purely evil. Even though he sold his soul to the devil and never really regretted doing it (only its consequences), he did it not because he was wicked by nature, but because he was desperate of the life he lived. He thought that by selling his soul he might have a chance of a better life, which it improved in a way (remember he hated his wife) but he was still going to hell, so what's the point?
SAMANTHA: I don't completely agree with you. It is true he cared more for his possessions than his own wife, BUT HE HAD HIS REASONS. I mean, the wife was the devil in flesh! She abused him and he never did anything back to her!
MEMO: I completely agree with you.
JAVIER AUDE: I don't completely agree with you because the wife made Tom's life a living hell, so not mourning her isn't really being evil, it just meant relief.
It's very controversial the fact that Tom Walker maybe purely evil or not. It is because we see Tom as the one that made a treaty with the devil and the one that fooled poor people to win more money, and that makes him evil. But I believe he is not PURELY evil because at the end he at least thought of a way to redeem himself, he was actually a little worried that his wife was missing although for the wrong reason, but also because he didn't know any better, he was living in this miserable world that the author described , with a miserable wife, with no money, so he acted upon desperation. Although it's true that what he did was wrong but his intentions weren't that bad.
Ernesto: I have to say that I don't agree with you completely. Making a pact directly with the devil is evil that's true, but tom walker didn't have bad intentions, he sought that as the only solution for his desperation and miserable life! You can't blame him in his position, so he agreeing to that pact, yeah it kind of makes him evil, but not purely evil. I believe no one is purely evil.
I believe Tom Walker was not completely evil, because he didn't accept to become a slave merchant and he even read the bible daily, yes, he did make a pact with the devil but he never actually changed who he really was because he became richer, he still handled the money the same sparing way he would've.
Javier, you may say he is evil now, because he got his money through a dishonest way. I don't agree with you, because loaning money is not dirty business, it is just not affordble even though many think they have a chance to escape pay.
Ernesto i have to disagree with you. Sometimes desperation makes you do things that, and blinds you completely. At the state he was in he had to accept it. the good thing was that he was able to notice it and try his best correct that and that what counts at the end.
in my opinion, i think that tom walker was not purley evil. he was just misguided and got carried away by the material things instead of whats in your heart. even though he made a pact with the devil, he still read his bible every day and he missed his wife.
MARCEL:
i disagree with your opinion, just because tom walker made a big mistake doesnt mean that he is evil. he regretted everything he did, and he try to get forgiven by God, thats why he read the bible.
Well Maria Cristina, I agree with your opinion that he wasn't fully evil. I just don't agree with the facts you put to support them. You will also have to take in consideration that he finally cared about his wife, missed her and deep inside loved her. He also prayed and looked for salvation in Gods eyes
LYANNE: It's true I should have also take in consideration the fact that he in the end did care a bit for his wife and that he prayed for salvation.
Any person is never purely evil or good. Therefore, Tom walker was not purely evil; still he was mostly evil.
The only part were he had shown a good side of him was when he had rejected his first task: becoming a slave trader. It gave us a sense of moral within this man. Still as the story continues, the reader's opinion might change. Though Tom Walker had had a miserable and pitiful life, it didn't give him the right to treat others like he had done: taking everything they had when they couldn't pay back the money they had borrowed. He was rich enough, still he wanted more and more. At some point, he becomes aware of his evilness and he "regrets" having done the pact with the devil, which he had done only to gain treasures. He shows his "repent" when he starts to read the bible, and carries it with him. Still, we see that he is just a hypocrite; he is just scared to go to hell for what he did. This we know because he keeps doing the task that the devil gave him instead of stoping and ending the pact. He continues doing wrong and on the other hand, he carries a bible trying to show repentness. But he is a fraud, he is evil.
Cristina: He may have some good within him, but he acted that way his heart thought. His possessions were more important to him than his own wife. He even gave his soul to gain such treasures the devil promised. This may show that he had no hope within himself, and that he believed it would be better if his soul belonged to someone else. Still, later he was just scared to go to hell, so he started reading the bible and acting "good", but his heart still belonged to the treasures he was getting. He kept doing the dirty job he was given, showing us that he did not truly repent as he tried to show.
Elaine:
I understand your point of view. But at this times remember they were Puritans, they didn't have the same view of the world and society as we have now, so everybody that sinned was evil for them. Tom Walker had no excuse to make a pact with the devil and nothing will save him from that. How can you explain this?
tom walker wasnt purely evil , but his wife made him this way, they didnt have a healthy relationship at all she even kicked his but.
lyanne i agree with u but i dont think that he wasnt purely evil just because he read the bible that doesnt really have much to do with how evil he is
After reading the story, The Devil and Tom Walker, I have come to the conclusion that Tom Walker is not purely evil. Yes he is greedy and selfish, but that doesn’t make him entirely an entirely evil person. Tom Walker lived a very miserable life, with an awful wife and no money, which made him a greedy person. Yet, throughout his actions in the story it is noticeable that he is not pure evil but has some good within him. An example of this good is the way in which he treats the people to whom he loans money too, yes he is strict with the fulfillment of their deal but that is business. Except for his strict manner in business, he is very friendly to the townspeople, he even becomes close to some. It would have been expected him to become a snob, and start treating the poor as inferiors now that he was rich, taking into considerations how he used to live. However he didn’t and that proves he is not purely evil but has some good within him.
Memo: I do not agree with you with many things you have said. You said things make people evil, but really how can things make people evil? They are just simply things, what I think does make people evil is when their competitiveness, and ambitions. They themselves become evil on their own with their actions, when they lose the true meaning of things such as their ambitions and goals and confuse them with greed and avarice. When people mistaken loves true meaning and commit unlawful acts in its name, that’s when people truly become evil and is not a thing that makes them this way but their own selves. Another thing in which I don’t agree with you is that you say that Tom Walker regretted what he had done and tried to redeem himself, because I don’t think he really regretted his actions and having taking that money from the people but just the pact with the devil. He regretted the pact because he was afraid of what it could bring to him, but he truly didn’t redeem himself completely because even though he started reading the bible, going to church and praying to God, he never really did change his actions. Tom Walker continued to be his old self; the only difference is that he had a bible.
Moises, I don't believe that a person is purely evil just because he made a wrong decision.
Carla i think youre right, as i was telling samantha people can change and they are no entirely evil. Tom walker wasnt purely evil because as you said the way in which he treats the people to whom he loans money too, yes he is strict with the fulfillment of their deal but that is business.
lyanne i never said hes purely evil because of the wrong decition but i just dont agree with you in the part about the bible
i dont really agree with you carla he didnt come close with some people what he cared about was his money and how he lived his life /how he used the money
wanda, you have to understand that him acting that way was reflecting his own life. It was not his fault he had to live so miserable with a horrible wife; thus, we cant say that he had no morals, he was just not taught about them. The fact that he was greedy and selfish were just defects that he, being a human, had. Now, the way he tried to repent after having done the pact, it gave a sense of goodness within him.
ARANTXA: i know he had been affected by that pitiful life he had. Still, I believe every human knows or has a certain understanding about what is right and what is wrong. Tom Walker knew that pretending to be repentful was not going to make him change if he did not want to change. He preferred to continue living the way he did, and earning treasures like he was doing; his heart was more into getting rich than to prevent his soul from going to hell. Though he knew this, he continued doing such wrong acts, and that's were I define him as an evil person.
... five more hours to go ...
I don't plan on asking anybody any questions, Lyanne and Samantha have taken care of basically disagreeing with everyone.
Carla: When i say things make you evil because those things tempt you. The lack of money, the false pursuit of happiness those things make you fall into the hand of evil. If money wasn't a problem people wouldn't steal. When the need of something is present, the need to fulfill it will always be there.
Teacher George: I will have to disagree on you.:P
Memo: Disagree ON me? Why would you go and do that? Hmm... Or do you mean disagree WITH me?
Blog Assignment #6 is done!
In my opinion, very few people are truly evil. Not many people do evil things just because they like to do what is wrong, they do it because they think it is right for any kind of reason. However, Tom Walker seemed to be one of those people. He made the deal with the devil knowing that he would go to hell and do terrible things to others and he simply did not care.
i do not think Tom Walker is completely evil, because he sometimes misses his wife, and prays and reads the bible, and i think that it was actually his wife who transformed him into what he is now, or what he was... i think that his wifes abuses and greediness, selfishness, made him turn into the greedy and kind of evil person he is from beggining to end of the STORY.
sorry for posting this late, i thought it was for NEXT week XD
Manuel, i disagree with what you say about Tom Walker about being totally evil, yes, he was very greedy and did not think of many people, if any, but he does miss his wife and he read the bible.
Memo: I guess you're right. Sometimes things can make people greedy.
I disagree with you, Coki. Tom Walker knew what he was doing when he made the deal with the devil. It is true that the misery that pushed him to do it was in part caused by his wife, but Tom Walker should have just left her instead of what he did. He does not miss her, and I don't know where you saw that in the story.
As you say, Coki, he was very greedy and thought only about himself. Still, I do not think that he really missed his wife. He did feel a twinge of regret at losing his wife, but that was merely a natural reaction that he ignored thereafter. Also, the only reason he prayed was for his own salvation, a greedy and selfish reason on its own.
wow... hmm...
maybe it wasnt really a natural reaction and he missed her, not her in reality but her punches and her presence:p
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