Similarities Between The Devil And Tom Walker

The Devil and Tom Walker The Devil and Tom Walker was my favorite short story to read. This was probably due to the fact that I had no background on the events of the story like I did for Irving’s other works. Similar to Rip Van Winkle, The Devil and Tom Walker opens by explaining the setting of the pre-civil war town outside of Boston. This unnamed town is characterized the large swamp that runs through it. One day while traveling home through the swamp Tom Walker meets the devil while resting at an old fort deep in the swamp. The devil attempts to strike a bargain with Tom to make him rich. Tom does not accept the deal, and goes home and tells his wife about his encounter. Angered that he passed up on the opportunity of becoming

Tom Walker initially turned down the devil’s deal because he did not support what he had to use the money for. I also enjoyed Tom because I found there to be an aspect of dry humor to humor to him. When faced with the devil --the most diabolical creature in the universe has managed to produce-- he is not even phased. His absence of a reaction is silly to me regardless of the evil he has been through with his wife. Irving did a good job when constructing Tom’s character, he pairs oddness with realism to create the perfect character. One crosses paths with Tom Walker like characters daily. Tom was always frugal with his money and when he becomes rich he still does not spend it. Tom reminds me of those people that you hear about that when they die the whole world finds out there are a millionaire. Overall I was impressed with this short story because it was a fresh view of the classic story of one selling their soul to the devil. Also, I found parts to be quite amusing making the story more enjoyable to read. I found many parallels between this story and Rip Van Winkle. Both Rip and Tom are heckled by their wife frequently. Because of this they share many similar qualities and behaviors. They also are similar in the fact that the main character foes through a life changing mythical event, Tom and the Devil, and Rip and his extensive nap. While told in