Never Bet The Devil Your Head

How is this book unique? Font adjustments & biography included Unabridged (100% Original content) Illustrated About Never Bet the Devil Your Head by Edgar Allan Poe "Never Bet the Devil Your Head" is a story by American author Edgar Allan Poe. The satirical tale pokes fun at the notion that all literature should have a moral and spoofs transcendentalism. Plot Summary: The narrator, presented as the author himself, is dismayed by literary critics saying that he has never written a moral tale. The narrator then begins telling the story of his friend Toby Dammit. Dammit is described as a man of many vices, at least in part due to his left-handed mother flogging him with her left hand, which is considered improper. Dammit often made rhetorical bets, becoming fond of the expression "I'll bet the devil my head". Though the narrator tries to break Dammit of bad habits, he fails. Nevertheless, the two remain friends. While traveling one day, they come across a covered bridge. It is gloomy and dark, lacking windows. Dammit, however, is unaffected by its gloom and is in an unusually good mood. As they cross the bridge, they are stopped by a turnstile partway across. Dammit bets the devil his head that he can leap over it. Before the narrator can reply, a cough alerts them to the presence of a little old man. The old man is interested in seeing if Dammit is capable of making such a leap and offers him a good running start. The narrator thinks to himself that it is improper for an old man to push Dammit into making the attempt — "I don't care who the devil he is", he adds.