Symbolism In The Devil And Tom Walker

The Devil’s Work Staying true to your values isn’t always the easiest thing to do yet nothing is ever truly gained from going against them. You may gain momentary gains but your values will always come back around on you. Tom trades his soul to the Devil for gold and riches instead of staying with his values and working hard to gain them. In the end the Devil ends up coming for Tom to get what is owed to him just because he wanted the easy way out. In The Devil and Tom Walker, Washington Irving shows us through Tom that gaining insubstantial items by setting aside your values will always come back to get you in the long run. There were many descriptive images described all throughout this story and it made it easy to get a good mental picture of what was going on.

One symbol is the treasure that is promised to Tom. The treasure symbolizes temptation, which Tom gives into. “The black man told him of great sums of money buried by Kidd the pirate, under the oak trees on the high ridge, not far from the morass. All these were under his command and protested by his power, so that none could find them but such as propitiated his favor” (Irving 354). Here is where Tom is first tempted to take the Devil’s deal. However, he refuses at this point and it isn’t until later when his wife dies. To me his wife dying is as if his values are set aside and he is free to do what he wants now. These symbols show us how staying true to yourself resists temptation. Sticking true to your values will benefit you more in the long run rather than setting them aside for momentary gains. This story is important in proving this because it shows us how Tom gives in. In the immediate future he gains a lot, yet at the end of the story he still gets taken by the Devil and loses everything he thought he had gained. Think of a time where you gave in and went against what you believe in. What did you really gain from