The Devil And Tom Walker Essay

Washington Irving is one of the pioneers in the literature that defined American literature in the early colonial period in the United States. Irving defined American folklore with his publications that were loosely inspired by German fairytales created by the Grimm brothers. His Short story “the Devil and Tom Walker” is a timeless piece of literature that encompasses the mystery of the unknown in the early colonial time period that Irving grew up in. Irving himself grew up wealthy, but always showed a dislike for wealthy business men that acquired their wealth from ill-gotten ways. These opinions clearly leak into many of his writings that he has published throughout his career. Irving's "The devil and Tom Walker" was one of the first pieces

“In “The Devil and Tom Walker,” set in New England in the early 1700s, a narrator relates a story he has heard about a local man’s dealings with the devil (Wilson, Kathleen).” This statement shows a brief overview of the short story about Tom Walker and the Devil. After Tom makes a deal with the devil he attempts to cheat the devil by attending church in hope that it will save his soul. "When Tom grows old, he begins to worry about the terms of his deal with the devil and suddenly becomes a “violent church-goer” in an effort to cheat the devil out of receiving his soul (Wilson, Kathleen).” In his old age he starts to come to a realization that he is doomed to fall into the Devil’s hands and tries to slip his way out of their deal. Tom’s efforts are in vain as the Devil still comes for his rotted soul in the end. ” Nevertheless, one morning the devil conies calling and instantly whisks Tom away on a black horse in the midst of a thunderstorm to the Indian fort in the woods, never to be seen again (Wilson, Kathleen).” Tom is eventually taken away by the Devil and is never seen again. In the forest his tree rotted to the core signaling the end of Tom

Tom easily corrupted by the devil because his heart is already filled with greed and temptation. “Through this setting, Irving suggests that if one’s heart is full of mud and quicksand, one is likely to encounter and succumb to temptation. (Wilson, Kathleen)” This statement is a representation of what Irving describes in his short story. Another prevalent theme in the story is the idea of hypocrisy. “In a further example of hypocrisy, Tom insists on keeping his deals with customers, which drive them to ruin, but then he conspires to cheat the devil on the terms of their own deal. (Wilson, Kathleen)” This shows more of Tom’s true character and that he only wishes to save his own skin, but these actions only contribute more to the rotting of his tree. Finally the last major theme of the story is the greed that mankind shows when they are corrupted. “Initially, Tom is so greedy that he declines because he would have to share the fortune with his wife. (Wilson, Kathleen)” Tom is so greed that he declines the Devil in order to keep the wealth from his wife so that she will not be rich