Essay about The Devil And Tom Walker, by Washington Irving

Both authors describe the devil similarly. In the two stories, the devil craftily disguises himself so that he appears to be a

Unlikely events are events that are not probable or likely to happen in everyday life. Tom's first meeting with the devil is an unlikely event. The way that the devil first appears is after Tom takes a walk through the forest and stops at an old fort to explore its surroundings. When he comes across an old cloven skull, in which an Indian Tomahawk was buried deep within. Tom kicks the skull and Irving writes “‘Humph!’ said Tom Walker, as he gave it a kick to shake the dirt from it. ‘Let that skull alone!’ said a gruff voice. Tom lifted up his eyes. and beheld a great black man seated directly opposite him, on the stump of a tree. He was exceedingly surprised...” (2). To extend on this, the thought that a supernatural creature like the devil can appear out of nowhere is an unlikely event. Continuing on, another unlikely event that takes place in this short story is when the devil burns his thumbprint on Tom’s forehead as a signature. This can be a sign that the devil is leaving his mark with Tom and the devil will always be apart of him. But the fact that a supernatural creature can touch a human being a leave a mark is unlikely to ever happen. Those are just a few of unlikely events that occur in The Devil and Tom

In “The Devil and Tom Walker” they use literary archetypes that represents universal patterns of human behavior or commonly-held beliefs. This story takes place in 1727 in Boston Massachusetts. There are three main characters who are very similar but a little different. Tom Walker is small, greedy, overly confident, and miserly. Tom Walker’s wife Mrs. Walker is selfish, verbally abusive towards Tom, and she is known as a termagant because she nags and complains all of the time. Last but not least old scratch has many other names that have been given to him by his personality, but he is the devil.

During the early 1700s, a traveler met a man in the Massachusetts forest. However, this was no mortal human, but the devil. “Young Goodman Brown” and “The Devil and Tom Walker,” two short stories, both start out this way. Washington Irving wrote the latter in 1824, which tells how Tom Walker profited by working for the devil. In 1835, Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote “Young Goodman Brown,” which describes Goodman Brown’s encounter with the devil. Despite minor deviations between their themes, the two stories share ideas regarding the devil, specifically his appearance and connection with man’s depravity. overpowering minor deviations between their themes. [MAYBE DELETE THE LAST HALF OF THE THESIS, AND ADD SPECIFICITY TO THE FIRST HALF (WHICH IDEAS OF THE DEVIL ARE SIMILAR?)]]

In this story the colony believes that Old Scratch lives in the woods and disappeared people and are never seen again. When Old Scratch hewn Tom, a countryman said to have seen the Devil take Tom at the back of the horse and galloped away into the burning woods. Also, the tree is a legend that the colony have talked about how most of the great men in the colony has their name marked before their deaths. The recent death was a rich man named crowninshield, his name was marked on a tall tree for vulgarizing the display of wealth. In this story the author is trying to teach a lesson to people who are greedy, if you are one of them, Old Scratch will come for you. Tom was so greedy and all he ever wanted was to gain and obtain lots of money, well the Devil came for him and galloped away with his horse into the burning woods. Tom’s wife was also greedy, one thing she did was hide the egg so Tom wouldn't eat and she would fulfil her wants and needs. When the wife found out that Tom was making deals with Old Scratch, she decided to find Old Scratch to make deals but she was unfortunate that he ended her life. If you are to greedy and selfish, the Devil will end your life and come for

Tom chose to take the darkest route that night. ‘’ Tom Walker, however was not a type of man with fears of any kind’’ (231). Tom went through a treacherous forest (230). Tom Walker agreed to sell himself to the devil by making a deal with him.

In this story we can see many interesting facts about the main character Tom Walker such as his relations with other characters and his own beliefs. In the story we can see how Tom doesn’t accept the deal with the Devil at first, but when his wife dies in hands of the Devil, Tom Walker now accepts to do the deal; however he doesn’t accept because he feels like he has lost everything but because now his wife can’t take away any part of the treasure and now he will do the things he wants for his own good and not to please

Tom Walker is satrical on the grounds that Washington Irving is ridiculing Tom and his wide to be so avaricious for

Tom Walker lived in Puritan, New England, a place that is very religious and criticizes wrong doings. Tom Walker worked for the devil, which in Puritan, New England is against their religion. If the people in the town found out that Tom worked for the devil they would have him killed or sent away. Because of these reasons and because the people of the town are quick to judge, Tom worked very secluded. So, in The Devil and Tom Walker, Washington Irving uses detail to portray that Tom is not who others make him out to be, reveal that Tom is gullible, and to convey that Tom worked for the Devil.

As people grow up, it is made apparent to them that the Devil is an evil and rather a clever person. The greatest example of the devil in action is when the devil tempts Jesus. As most know, the devil fails to get Jesus to do evil. Jesus is both human and divine while the main character of The Devil and Tom Walker, Tom Walker, is a “meager, miserly fellow”. Unfortunately, Tom Walker is not Jesus so the reader must focus in on Washington Irving’s The Devil and Tom Walker to see just exactly how and when the Devil won his game. Irving portrays to the reader that the devil cannot be beaten at his own game through setting, characters, and plot. As people have seen in sports, the setting of a game (where, when, weather, etc.) can have a big impact on the game. The same goes for The Devil and Tom Walker.

In the story, “The Devil and Tom Walker,” there is a humorous way of looking at serious topics. Washington Irving shows his thoughts on these topics through the characters in this story. He attacks ways of living and social ideas that he thinks people should live without. In this story, Irving criticizes violence, greed, and false piety.

One similarity we see in Washington Irving’s stories is a similarity in setting. In both stories he speaks about mountainous areas. In the Devil and Tom Walker Washington Irving states “…on the opposite side the land rises abruptly from the water’s edge into a high ridge…” and in Rip van winkle he states “Whoever has made a voyage up the Hudson must remember the Kaatskill mountains. They are a dismembered branch of the great Appalachian family…” Washington Irving grew up and lived in the Hudson River valley, located near the Kaatskill Mountains, which could be a reason for the similarities in his stories Rip Van Winkle and The Devil and Tom Walker. Another similarity in both stories are where Tom and Rip Van Winkle live. Tom lived in “…a forlorn-looking house that stood alone and had an air of starvation.” Rip lived in a house “which was sadly time-worn and weather beaten…”

A Faustian legend is a story in which a character trades something of great personal value to the devil in order to receive personal gain. Since this type of literature originated in the Fourth Century it has spread throughout the world. Two relatively recent versions of this legend are “The Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving and “The Devil and Daniel Webster” by Vincent Benét. These stories show many similarities as well as a few differences. While both Benét and Irving present similar themes in setting of the tales and motivation in the Faustian character, they do differ in the nature of that character and their visual presentation of the Devil.

Nathaniel Hawthorne and Washington Irving are two of the most prolific and successful writers of their era. Hawthorne’s, “Young Goodman Brown” is a story about a man, Goodman Brown who happens to set out on a trip for an evil purpose. On the way he meets a man who offers him his staff, saying that it might help him walk faster, but Goodman Brown refuses and wishes to return back to his village for the sake of his wife, Faith. On the other hand, Irving’s, “The Devil and Tom Walker” is about an individual who lets his greed and selfishness take charge of him. Tom Walker, a greedy man, attempts to make a deal with a devil. Tom seeks wealth and in return the devil asks for his soul. In both stories, the authors express their feelings and views about staying away from indulgence and sin. In spite of all the difference among Hawthorne’s, “Young Goodman Brown” and Irving’s, “The Devil and Tom Walker,” they share salient similarities such as setting, symbolism, and author’s purpose.

To begin, in the short story “The Devil and Tom Walker”, awe of nature is used to