Tension in Witchs Money Essay -- Witchs Money Essays

Tension in Witchs M whizy In John Colliers Witchs Money, the exotic who suddenly appears in a remote luck village in Spain is initially seen by Foiral as an unwelcome madman. Certainly his surrealist description of the landscape must seem a symptom of insanity to one unfamiliar with the trends of modern art. Once he offers a nice sum of money to buy Foirals house, however, the funny is treated with a new attitude. He is soundless not completely accepted by the community that he has moved into, but he does wield a new type of power just because only he can produce cash from paper billets. With his magic cheques, though, the stranger creates a tension that grows into an economic struggle between himself and his community. Even worse, the stranger unknowingly creates a conflict among the natives of the town who have been a united group. Ultimately, because of the power that the witchs money brings into this community, the people of the town -- once happy and content -- be destroy ed, and so is the community as a whole. Despite his unconventional art, this stranger is a misbegotten missionary for the decadent values of Western civilization, and with his money he brings the disease of capitalism to the innocent village. One of the first signs of a struggle between the stranger and the community arises when the villagers voice their suspicions about him. They seem to think that the stranger is fabricating details in order to hide a secret perhaps. For example, Arago points out that the stranger claims to have come from Paris but also that he was an American (67). The situation that the stranger has no relations adds to the towns suspicions. More importantly, though, Foiral and the town are skeptical about t... ...e to him (75). Thus, at the end of the story the townsfolk laugh at Guis as they march to the bank to choose their money. Guis, they believe, has nothing while they have a remarkable treasure in cheques. Little do they know that disaster awaits wh en they demand payment for their blank cheques. When their demand is refused, their little town will no longer be happy and content. Moreover, their attempt to cash the cheques will lead to the discovery of the artists murder and the ruin of the village. The doors of prison will swing shut upon them as quickly as the doors of the bank do. But in reality the village has already been ruined, its innocence destroyed by the capitalistic power of witchs money. Works Cited Collier, John. Witchs Money. 1939. Short Story Masterpieces. Ed. Robert Penn Warren and Albert Erskine. New York Dell, 1958. 61-75.