Tetiyette and the Devil Analysis

“Tetiyette and the Devil” is a short story that gives the message that not everything that glitters is gold. The author effectively conveys this message by showing us how Tetiyette reacts to men who are complete opposites. The first two men she meets are compared to a goat and a pig, and both of these comparisons give us the impression that these men aren’t visually attractive. These men who aren’t conventionally attractive represent the things in life that we have to search deeper for; this takes more work but it’s worth it in the end. When Tetiyette shoos both of them away, the author is showing us how easily humans often judge things based off of what they see on the surface. This is already starting to show what the moral of the story could be, because she turns down two men simply because of their looks. We see further into this lesson when the devil is introduced to the story. He comes dressed in fine clothing and makes himself very visually appealing, therefore Tetiyette is immediately more attracted to him. She exclaims, “Have him come up! Have him come up! I want him!” (2), but she knows nothing about what the devil’s interior is like. She accepts his proposal to marry her before even getting to know him. She also ignores her mother’s warnings and covers for him when she finds out that he’s really a devil. This represents the trait in all of us that always wants to give into someone or something just because it looks nice. By making the antagonist in this story a devil, the author conveys just how bad a situation like this could be if we allow ourselves to fall into these traps. This also gives the lesson that we shouldn’t let ourselves be blinded by nice things, because Tetiyette let herself be blinded by the devil’s appearance and completely ignored the fact that he was a devil. This story has a perfect message for young girls who may be in Tetiyette’s position, and could be starting the phase in their lives where they are starting to experience romantic attraction. “Tetiyette and the Devil” provides them with a metaphorical example of what could happen when you go into a relationship without really getting to know the person first. The story allows young girls to understand what they should look for not only in partners, but in life.