Corruption In Washington Irving's The Devil And Tom Walker

Washington Irving, one of the first American authors to gain international recognition, believed in order for an American writer to be successful, they had to imitate British literature. Irving was born in 1783 and was always exceedingly talented in reading and writing. During the 1800’s, short stories had just became a new attraction. People did not know much about them. However, Irving wanted to explore more and began writing a short story which emphasized the evil temptations and influence the devil has on all people. In Washington Irving’s dark short story, “The Devil and Tom Walker”, Irving displays the theme of moral corruption through symbolism. The trees in “The Devil and Tom Walker” may not seem to serve a purpose, however, as the

The horse stands as a symbol of the pain and agony moral corruption can do to not only one’s soul, as well as, their outward appearance. “A miserable horse, whose ribs were as articulate as the bars of a gridiron…scarcely covering the ragged beds of pudding stone, tantalized and balked his hunger…” (2). The horse, owned by Tom and his wife, is being tortured by his strong desire for food and his hunger is taunting him. It is almost as though his caretaker’s greed and corruption is affecting the horse the more and more they make mistakes. The only time Tom’s horse is spoken of is in the beginning of the story and the end. When Tom is taken by the devil and he is never seen again, people go to search his house. Upon their findings, “two skeletons lay in his stable instead of his half-starved horses…” (14). After Tom if finally done cheating others out of their money and the devil takes Tom to hell, his horses die. This is an indication of whatever corruption Tom brought upon himself externally, his horse received internally. The resemblance between the horse and Tom is so minor and may seem insignificant yet the horse does have a huge part and influence on the