The Devil and Tom Walker

Romanticism was a movement in the arts that began as a revolt against the scientific rationalism after the Industrial Revolution. Possessed of a distrust of industry and the city life, Romanticism...

After hearing Tom's report of the deal he had been offered by the devil, whereby he could basically "sell his soul" in return for great wealth (the gold buried by Kidd the pirate), Tom's wife goes...

The characterization in this story is a mixture of direct and indirect characterization. Indirect characterization occurs when the reader must deduce for himself or herself the characteristics of...

When "Old Scratch," the devil, shows Tom Walker a tree that seemed to be healthy and vigorous but had been scored by an ax to reveal a rotten core, Deacon Peabody's name is cut into it. "Old...

In this brilliant satire by Washington Irving there are certainly any number of examples of humour to pick from. You might however want to analyse the presentation of Tom and his wife, and the kind...

When Irving's narrator is establishing the setting of the story, it is described as "about the year 1727, just at the time when earthquakes were prevalent in New England, and shook many tall...

The agreement between Tom Walker and the the devil in "The Devil and Tom Walker" has a variety of terms and conditions. According to the most basic terms of the deal, the devil promises to give Tom...

The most significant lesson to be learned from Washington Irving's short story concerns the harmful effects of unrestrained greed and malice. Throughout the short story, Tom Walker is a miserly...

Imagery, as the name implies, is a description in accordance with human senses, often with emphasis upon certain details or interpretations which associate the imagery with emotion. The same scene,...

First, a sense of the supernatural infests the ominous swamp that Tom Walker is not afraid to cross (though others are) on the way home. He behaves as if he is oblivious to its dangers, and...

An early indication that Washington Irving was about to satirize the Quaker and Puritan influences that permeated New England during the period he depicts in his short story “The Devil and Tom...

In "The Devil and Tom Walker," a story that is an indictment against American economics and dealings as driven by greed, Washington Irving employs satire. He also satirizes religious hypocrisy and...

In Washington Irving's short story "The Devil and Tom Walker," the protagonist, Tom Walker, is described as a "meagre, miserly" fellow who conspires to cheat his wife—who is equally as meagre and...

The tone of a story is the author's attitude toward the subject, and the mood is the emotional landscape. The tone of the story changes the mood. So at the times when the story is satirical, you...

There are basically three physical settings, all in New England, which provide the backdrop for Washington Irving's tale "The Devil and Tom Walker." The time is "about" 1727, when New England was a...

Interestingly, there are actually two houses you might discuss in "The Devil and Tom Walker," though both largely symbolize much the same thing: they are outward expressions of the internal...

When Tom Walker meets the Devil, the Devil tells him, "I am the great patron and prompter of slave-dealers." Therefore, Irving suggests that slave traders are diabolical and are associated with the...

Tom Walker's behavior before he met "Old Scratch" was consistent with his behavior after he met him. He was obsessed with money and material goods, and he chronically battled with his wife because...

Not long after making his bargain with the devil, Tom Walker begins to have a change of mind. This is shown clearly through the following line: Having secured the good things of this world, he...

Washington Irving's "The Devil and Tom Walker" presents a rather wry portrait of a miserly man who will not make a deal with the devil not because he does not want to lose his soul, but because he...

Tom Walker does not change as he ages; he merely grows fearful of the hereafter because he has sold his soul to the Devil. Washington Irving writes that as Tom grows older he begins to feel anxious...

Washington Irving cleverly satirizes the institution of marriage, Puritan culture, and the slave trade at various moments in the short story “The Devil and Tom Walker.” Irving satirizes the...

"The Devil and Tom Walker" has elements of both Gothic and Romantic literature, partly because the influences of these genres overlapped the time period in which it was written. Romantic literature...

“The Devil and Tom Walker” is an 1824 short story written by Washington Irving and appearing in his Tales of a Traveller collection. Tom and his wife have a combative and secretive relationship,...

In "the Devil and Tom Walker," Washington Irving uses natural surroundings to convey both mood and meaning. When Tom Walker first encounters "Old Scratch," the black man wearing a red sash, he is...

There appear to be any number of different conflicts that occur in this masterful short story by Washington Irving. These are mainly external conflicts, that is conflicts that are between people...

Tom Walker and his equally miserly wife live in a house in New England that "stood alone and had a look of starvation." This "forlorn-looking" building is surrounded by a few scrawny, sterile trees...

Even though the story is one based on a dark legend of one selling his soul to the devil for personal gain, Irving tells it with wry humor. When Irving describes both Tom Walker and his wife, he...

"The Devil and Tom Walker" ends when Tom is shouting at his customer, whom he's about to ruin financially to make a profit for himself, even though they are supposed to be friends. When this...

Satire is the use of hyperbole, irony, and humor to critique people, institutions, and even social norms. The purpose of satire is to alert people to crucial problems in society and to encourage...

Tom Walker and his wife are extremely greedy, insensitive people who are both willing to sell their souls to the devil in exchange for wealth. At the beginning of the short story, Tom's unhealthy...

In the exposition of Washington Irving's "The Devil and Tom Walker," the descriptions of the Walkers' "forlorn-looking" house and the "miserable" horse that have "an air of starvation" about them...

The trees and the swamp support a grim, foreboding mood that characterizes Tom Walker as an unpleasant character. He is hard already, willing to take risks that would repel the average person. He...

Like many readers, I certainly feel that Tom Walker deserved his fate in Washington Irving's short story "The Devil and Tom Walker." Our first introduction to Tom is brief and to the point; he is...

I think a good theme for the story is "We reap what we sow." If we only go around worrying about ourselves and what we can get out of a situation to benefit us, then we have truly...

A characteristic of Romanticism is a rejection of organized religion. Tom Walker's conversion to vigorous Christianity in his schemes to cheat the devil shows off the worst of organized religion...

The Devil and Tom Walker is the kind of story that has a great moral lesson to it. The devil wants to make a deal with Tom Walker, but Tom isn't so sure. He goes home to talk it over with his wife....

Washington Irving employs strong natural imagery to establish a mood capturing the fear of supernatural forces that pervaded the Puritan colonies. The landscape outside the Puritan settlement is...

The moral in “The Devil in Tom Walker” is that if you sell your soul to the devil to get what you want, it will end up destroying you. When we say “sell your soul” it is usually a metaphor. In...

In Washington Irving's "The Devil and Tom Walker," there are several mentions of the devil's influence or presence in America's "goings on." When he and Tom Walker initially meet in the woods, the...

Good question! Many readers stop paying attention to the text after they find out that the devil has carried Tom away on his black horse, into the swamp, which is struck by lightning and bursts...

Though Tom doesn't recognize the man he encounters in the swamp as the devil right away, it doesn't take him long. Washington Irving describes the man, saying, Tom lifted up his eyes and beheld a...

Tom eagerly accepts the occupation of usurer, which is a somewhat outdated term for a person who lends money at an unreasonably high rate of interest. As part of his agreement with "Old Scratch"...

In addition, the downed trees have names engraved on them that Tom recognizes. These people he remembers as being "wealthy and important" to society in the past, and should have been his...

The fact that this question is being asked gives some insight into Tom's behavior later in the story. In short, Tom probably couldn't do anything to change his fate, but people tend to look for...

How's this? "Tom's wife was a tall termagant." A termagant is "a violent, turbulent, or brawling woman. or When Tom sticks his walking stick into the ground he finds a human skull with an...

Tom Walker is an appropriate target for the Devil because he possesses the requisite vice that will eventually draw him to the bargain offered him. First of all, Walker and his wife are tightfisted...

Dark Romanticism is a form of literature that uses the mysterious and dark settings characteristic of Romanticism as a whole in ways that are often threatening and scary. Dark Romantic settings are...

In Washington Irving’s short story The Devil and Tom Walker, Tom is not a good man. Described upon his introduction as a “meager miserly fellow,” he will be presented as the personification of...

The most significant way in which Tom displays hypocrisy is through religion. Tom has cut a deal with the Devil (here named Old Scratch) to trade his soul for a buried pirate treasure. Tom is...