The Devil and Tom Walker Group

Question:

lil31992
lil31992
Student
High School - 11th Grade

What agreement does Tom Walker ultimately make with the devil?

the answer is in THE DEVIL AND TOM WALKER.

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Posted by lil31992 on Monday October 26, 2009 at 6:33 PM and tagged with literature, the devil and tom walker, washington irving.

Answers:

  1. srodgers1029
    srodgers1029 Teacher
    High School - 11th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    The Devil, or Old Scratch as he is called in the story, initially tries to persuade Tom to become a slave-trader.  Tom says that even the Devil himself could not persuade him to partake of such an enterprise, which is a reflection of the Romantic writer's awareness of and belief in democracy.  What Tom ultimately agrees to is to become a usurer, one who lends money at exhorbitant interest rates.  He trades his soul for a guarantee that he will be rich.  Once he gains his riches, he spends the rest of his life looking over his shoulder wondering when the Devil will come to collect his part of the debt.  He tries going to church as penance for what he has done, but inevitably, the Devil comes and collects on his deal and carries Tom away on horseback.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/devil-tom/summary

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    Posted by srodgers1029 on Monday October 26, 2009 at 6:57 PM