Talk:That Hell-Bound Train

recommended reading

A truly great story. A modern fable. It was made into a Twilight Zone or an Outer Limits I think. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.179.22.132 (talk) 05:07, 26 October 2008 (UTC)

I'd bet this is based, at least in title, on the poem "The Hell Bound Train" but without a source and terrible laziness, perhaps someone else will clarify it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.177.47.137 (talk) 03:04, 17 July 2009 (UTC)

Faust

This is a version of the Faust story as dramatized by Goethe. The magic watch that can stop time is the counterpart of the "Moment, remain, thou art so fair" spell in Goethe's drama, which will cause Faust to lose his soul of he uses it. 71.59.43.26 (talk) 03:15, 30 September 2013 (UTC)

@User:TonyTheTiger. I notice that, back in April 2013, you placed Faust navboxes on a lot of articles, including this one. Speaking specifically of this article, that navbox doesn't belong here. For one thing, nothing in the article mentions the Faustian story. And even if a reliable critical source did make the connection between Faust and the instant story, the better approach would be to quote that source in the article and blue-link the word "Faust" (thus allowing the interested reader to click through to learn more). There is no question that Bloch's story is a pact-with-the-devil story but, as things stand right now, it is nothing more than unsourced opinion that links the instant story to Faust. I intend to delete the navbox and to modify the lead paragraph to state that this is a pact-with-the-devil story (and blue link that adjective to the article on Deal with the devil). But before I do that, I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on the matter. NewYorkActuary (talk) 22:26, 4 October 2015 (UTC)

• NewYorkActuary, Obviously, it is difficult for me to remmember the exact logic that I was using regarding the usage of {{Faust}} from 2 and a half years ago. However, it may be the case that I put the template on all pact with the devil articles consistently. I do not know which ones were actually adapted from Faust, but I may have done that consistently. An expert on any given article might overrule the usage of the navbox on that page. However, the navbox should be used consistently for the sake of the reader. This article's deal with the devil is no doubt Faustian and likely of interest to Faust readers on WP.--TonyTheTiger (T / C / WP:FOUR / WP:CHICAGO / WP:WAWARD) 14:11, 7 October 2015 (UTC)

@TonyTheTiger: Thanks for answering my ping. My apologies for taking so long to get back to you -- I was distracted by events both on- and off-Wiki.
I think you hit the nail on the head when you describe the story as "Faustian". That word has become so common in the English language that we do tend to use it whenever we come across a deal-with-the-devil story. Indeed, it has become so common a term that we often forget that there were "Faustian" stories before Faust was written. I still think that, if a reliable critical source were found that linked this particular story to Faust, the better approach would be to blue-link the word when it appeared in the article. I also find it odd to have a navbox on an article that does not itself appear in the navbox.
I've removed the navbox, but added Faust to a newly-created "See Also" section. I hope that is an acceptable compromise.
Thanks again for your comments. NewYorkActuary (talk) 03:57, 3 November 2015 (UTC)

As you see fit. I am not a specialist on this topic. If you have a better understanding of the relevance of Faust to the topic, I have no problem with you adjusting how it is mentioned.--TonyTheTiger (T / C / WP:FOUR / WP:CHICAGO / WP:WAWARD) 00:17, 4 November 2015 (UTC)