My tussle with the devil, and other stories

My tussle with the devil, and other stories by O. Henry. It is a collection of short stories, parables, and prose poems written in the early 20th century. Framed in a spiritualist vein, the book meditates on the afterlife, moral choice, love, cruelty, and war, often personifying abstract forces and urging readers toward compassion and inner awakening. The volume opens with claims of messages “from beyond,” then unfolds a series of allegorical vignettes: the title tale stages a sumptuous temptation by a majestic Devil that the narrator decisively rejects; “The Contest” pits a seductive Life against a radiant Death; other pieces recast chain-gang misery, grief, and wartime loss through the transfiguring power of Love. Animals, flowers, and jewels become teachers—condemning cruelty (a vivisected spaniel), honoring loyalty (a ghostly dog who brings a slipper), and urging seekers to value the “diamond” of love above rubies or emeralds. Domestic memories, homely wisdom, and dockside camaraderie (with the dog Dakta choosing “brothers” for a redemptive mission) reinforce the book’s ethic of kindness. Later entries reimagine “munitions” as Kindness, Joy, and Love; depict dying as “going home”; and culminate in a quest in which the key to the Temple of Knowledge is simply love, before a final vision of Peace unfolding its golden wings over a renewed world.

Summary written by Project Gutenberg, by machine.