How does Irving create humor in "The Devil and Tom Walker"?

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 the inhumane treatment of Native Americans and African-Americans. To the point, Irving places the devil in the center of all the despicable actions in order to suggest better his satire.

• Demoralization of people of color

As Tom Walker takes what he believes to be a shortcut --Irving's satiric comment on Americans' proclivity for quick fixes and quick profits -- he finds himself at an old fort with the evidence of long-ago struggles at a "lonely, melancholy" place where he stops to rest. There, he uncovers a skull with an Indian tomahawk embedded in it. As he examines this skull, Tom hears a gruff voice order him to leave it alone. The stranger that emerges is "neither negro nor Indian":

It is true, he was dressed in a rude, half Indian garb, and had a red belt or sash swathed round his body, but his face was neither black nor copper color, but swarthy and dingy and begrimed with soot, as if he had been accustomed to toil among fires and forges.

In this passage, there is a subtle satire of the often demonizing portrayal of African Americans and Indians. Also, Irving's "black woodsman's" exaggeration is mockingly humorous, as he boasts of having been a patron of slave dealers, as well as the "grand-master of Salem witches."

That Irving abhors slavery is further evinced in his satiric observation that even the greedy Tom Walker "resolutely refused" to go into the slave trade when he makes his deal with the devil.

• Greed/ American economics

The black man points to the name of Crowninshield that is carved into a tree; the name of a very wealthy man who "made a vulgar display of wealth" and now is ready for burning. As he talks with the devil, Tom refuses to make a financial deal right away. Upon his return home, his wife mentions the death of this same Crowninshield. Because he is uneasy about this proposed deal with the black man, he informs his wife of their meeting. Tom and his wife usually suspect each other in their greed. Irving writes mockingly:

They were so miserly that they even conspired to cheat each other. Whatever the woman could lay hands on, she hid away; a hen could not cackle but she was on the alert to secure the new-laid egg. Her husband was continually prying about to detect her secret hoards.

While Tom is determined not to sell himself to the Devil in order to oblige his wife, Tom's wife is determined "to drive the bargain on her own account" and keep the profits for herself. She sets out to meet with the black man by herself in order to make a deal.

When she fails to return home, Tom grows so "anxious about his property" -- not her -- that he seeks his wife and this property at the Indian fort. As he searches for her, twilight begins to fall and Tom hears "the clamor of carrion crows." Tom detects a bundle tied in a checkered apron high in a tree. After scrambling up the tree, Tom retrieves this bundle only to discover nothing but a heart and liver. Once on the ground, Tom observes footprints of cloven feet and handfuls of black hair that must have come from "the woodsman."

With irony, Irving mocks Tom's lack of concern as he thinks, "Old Scratch must have had a tough time of it!" With further tones of sarcasm, Irving writes of the miser, 

He even felt something like gratitude towards the black woodsman who, he considered, had done him a kindness.

After meeting with the black man one night, Tom agrees to be a moneylender for Old Scratch, who insists that his money be employed in the Devil's service. Therefore, Tom opens a broker shop in Boston and lends money at four percent interest a month.

After a financial crash in the area, Irving writes with irony that Tom acted like "a friend in need" to those who borrowed from him out of desperation. 

With further satire, Irving writes of Tom,

He always exacted good pay and good security. In proportion to the distress of the applicant was the hardness of his terms. . . [until he] gradually squeezed his customers closer and closer, and sent them at length, dry as a sponge, from his door.

• Religious hypocrisy

Irving mocks the sanctimonious hypocrites among the religious group with Tom Walker's new religious zeal. He begins to worry about his soul as he ages, so he becomes a zealot in his attendance at church, and prays publicly in a loud voice. In mockery of the Puritans, Irving writes,

The quiet Christians who had been moving modestly and steadfastly traveling Zionward were struck with self-reproach at seeing themselves so suddenly outstripped of their career by this new-made convert.

Tom Walker always keeps a Bible open at his house; furthermore, he carries a small one in his pocket wherever he goes out of superstition, not religious fervor. He suspects that the devil "will have his due" and come for his soul.

This fear is realized one day when Tom forecloses on a mortgage one day because he has left his Bible on his desk and left his smaller copy in his coat pocket. 

The black man whisked him like a child into the saddle, gave the horse the lash, and away he galloped, with Tom on his back in the midst of a thunderstorm. . . When the clerks turned to look for the black man, he had disappeared.

How does Irving create humor in "The Devil and Tom Walker"?

Irving creates humor, in large part, through irony and subtle sarcasm.  Tom Walker and his wife are described in the second paragraph as being extremely miserly.  In the next paragraph, he tells the reader that these two fought so much and so loudly, that passers-by, especially men, rejoiced in their bachelorhood, i.e., they were happy to be single rather than married to such a nasty wife.  When Tom tells his wife about his encounter with the devil and his reluctance to sign, she is so greedy that she wants to make her own pact with the devil.  She sets off to the woods to do so and is never seen again.  Her husband's only lament is that she had taken off with some of their household goods of value.  Irving tells the reader that Tom was a man of fortitude and so he "consoled himself for the loss of his property, with the loss of his wife,".  The final irony in the story is, when many years later, having signed with the devil and having made a fortune, Tom is accused of having made money from being so mean and stingy.  In his anger, Tom yells out that the devil should take him if he made any money that way.  Of course, the devil immediately appears and complies with Tom, taking him to hell.

How does Irving create humor in "The Devil and Tom Walker"?

One of the main targets of Irving's withering satire is the intimate link between Puritanism and the business world. Despite their devout religiosity Puritans had the reputation of being hard-working traders, merchants, and businessmen. In their daily business practices they sought to sanctify the world of the market place, the merchant house, and the exchange. Inevitably, this led to charges of hypocrisy, which Irving is only too willing to exploit in "The Devil and Tom Walker."

He makes it abundantly clear that Puritanism's close association with the business world can all too often lead to behavior which is very far from being Christian. Christianity preaches meekness and humility, whereas business, especially the kind of business in which Tom Walker's engaged, puts a premium on aggression and ruthlessness.

Irving shows us just how easy it is for someone to pretend to be a devout Christian while at the same time engaging in acts that are anything of the sort. Of course, this is a potential problem for all Christian denominations, all of whom have some hypocrites within their ranks. But Irving puts it to us that Puritans, because of their close association to the business world, are especially vulnerable to such hypocrisy.

How does Irving create humor in "The Devil and Tom Walker"?

I would say the most striking criticisms Irving levels at human beings (and general human society) can be found in the characterization of Tom Walker, along with his wife, whose extreme parsimony and pettiness was such that they made themselves miserable. This extreme, self-defeating miserliness is reflected in the condition in which the two live. They have taken miserliness to the highest point of absurdity, to such a degree that they have become impoverished for it. Consider, in the beginning of the story, the description of the house they live in: "they lived in a forlorn-looking house that stood alone, and had an air of starvation." Later, after Tom sells his soul to the devil, this same absurdity would continue to manifest, as now he would reside in a vast mansion (largely incomplete) and riding around in a carriage, pulled by starved horses. There's a tension here, between the ostentatious desire for status and prestige, continually undermined and made pointless by his own stinginess.

How does Irving create humor in "The Devil and Tom Walker"?

Satire is a particular type of humor, and literary critics agree that in "The Devil and Tom Walker," Washington Irving was satirizing America's growing greed and materialism when the story was written in 1824.

Irving was a well-known social satirist, and with this story he observes how the American colonies, even the ones that were supposed to be religious communities like the Puritans, were set up to exploit the abundant natural resources in America. And like Tom Walker, people also exploited each other when there was money to be made.

Irving's satirical humor in this story enables him to make a social critique without it turning into an editorial or a rant. Through the use of humorous exaggeration, Irving is able to make Tom Walker and his wife ridiculously greedy—to the point that they would squabble over the eggs that their chickens laid.

What character traits does Tom Walker exemplify in "The Devil and Tom Walker"?

1. Tom Walker is stingy.  He does not want to share anything with his wife or witness her taking pleasure in anything that he does not get to enjoy.  His house even represents this character trait, for Irving writes that when a passerby sees the barrenness of the Walker house, he keeps on walking, choosing to hazard starvation or lack of shelter over staying in such an unwelcoming place. Similarly, when he discovers that his wife as absconded with some of their household goods and later finds that she is dead, he is more concerned with getting back his missing items than his wife's fate.

2. Tom exemplifies the greediness and laziness.  He wants as many material goods as he can get in life, but he is unmotivated to work for them. His greediness and laziness cause him to make the deal with the devil because he is willing to take from others--even in their darkest hours--to make himself rich and he really doesn't have to do any manual labor to get rich because of his deal.

3. Tom is foolish.  His first instinct is to turn down the devil's offer.  But, after his wife chides him for not taking the deal, he foolishly enters into it. He realizes all along that the devil will come for him some day, but he naively tries to avoid that by practicing all sorts of weird superstitions.  In the end, nothing he can do saves him from fulfilling his end of the bargain with the devil.

What character traits does Tom Walker exemplify in "The Devil and Tom Walker"?

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 a character by observing that character's thought processes, behavior, speech, appearance, and style of communication with other characters. Direct characterization occurs when the narrator or another character explicitly tells readers about a character. This occurs in the second paragraph of the story when the narrator directly tells readers that Tom was "meager and miserly." We get a great bit of indirect characterization regarding Tom's greed when he decides that instead of taking the Devil's advice about lending at 2%, Tom says that he will lend at 4%. I also think that Tom is indirectly characterized as a determined individual. I think this has to be said because he is willing to make a deal with the devil in order to become wealthy. In Tom's mind, the end justifies the means. Additionally, we see Tom making a determined effort to avoid his final fate by becoming a "violent church-goer" that is always seen carrying a Bible and praying loudly.

What character traits does Tom Walker exemplify in "The Devil and Tom Walker"?

The Walkers, in "The Devil and Tom Walker," are quite a pair!  They're both all crusty and cantankerous--they act it and they look it.  Their marriage is a bitter one, as they're poor and have had to work hard. 

They're also both willing to sell their souls to the devil.  One tries it--and dies immediately--and one does it and dies eventually, both at the hands of the devil.

They're also both willing (and do) keep secrets from one another.  Tom actually tried to keep his secret but couldn't; his wife kept her secret and died for it.

In short, the two of them were more alike than different, and they probably deserved one another.

What character traits does Tom Walker exemplify in "The Devil and Tom Walker"?

Tom and his wife really don't share much of anything besides their miserly ways and their dislike of each other.

Tom's wife isn't afforded as much detail in her characterization as Tom is, but she is repeatedly said to be just as miserly as he is, if not moreso. Specifically, she tends to hide things that should be "common property", which leads to many of their fights. She is loud and unreserved in her criticisms of Tom, and Tom in turn appears to be equally short-tempered with her, to the point of striking her in the face on more than one occasion.

Their similarities are most evident when Tom returns home with the news of having met Old Scratch and negotiated a bargain with him for the old treasure. Tom might have gone along with the plan if his wife had not been so eager for him to do so; instead, he becomes reluctant for no other purpose than to infuriate her. Thus both characters seem to be primarily motivated by antagonizing the other, to the point that they spite themselves in the process. 

There are a few other minor details, such as the fact that neither Tom nor his wife appear to have a job or friends, and they are well known for their poor tempers and behaviors. 

What are the characteristics of Tom Walker and his wife in "The Devil and Tom Walker"?

Both Tom Walker and his wife are miserly, greedy, selfish people.  The narrator describes the state of the Walker house as being one with little amenities and decoration--Tom and his wife both want to keep their money rather than to spend it on anything extra.  After Tom meets the devil, his wife goes "behind his back" to try to make a deal with the devil instead; she cannot stand to think that Tom might get riches and keep them from her.  Tom and his wife always hide their money from each other, so one never knows what the other has.  At the end of the story, Tom exhibits his selfishness by agreeing to cheat honest workers out of their money through outrageous interest rates on his loans; even when the devil comes calling, Tom tries to hide the profits from him.  So both Tom and his wife only want riches at all costs for themselves.

What are the characteristics of Tom Walker and his wife in "The Devil and Tom Walker"?

Tom Walker and his wife are exactly the kind of people who are the protagonists of stories such as this, for two reasons.

The first reason is a realistic, pragmatic one: good folks don't deal with the devil. Of course, you have the tales of tricksters and vigilante types who manage to outwit Old Scratch, but even those tend to illustrate that you can't have a clean conscience if the very thought of trying to cheat the Devil crosses your mind as a way of getting ahead in the world. So, Mr. and Mrs. Walker fit the profile perfectly. They have absolutely no other motive but their own benefit. In fact, one of the most striking aspects of their personalities is that they don't have compassion or care for each other either.

This in particular marks them as the devil's natural prey. It's quite rare to see that kind of selfishness in fiction—and possibly in life as well. People living in wretchedness tend to band together with others that share their fate. Villains have henchmen, thieves form bands, and poor married couples fight their misfortune together. But Irving has them lying and stealing from each other. It's symbolic of them being lost long before they ever meet Old Scratch. Without a doubt, there were trees bearing their names in the dark forest.

The other reason why they're so fitting as characters is slightly mean, but Tom Walker and his wife are people whose eventual fate the reader doesn't mind. It's similar to why horror movies have so many young, vapid protagonists: not because the viewers are actively rooting for human beings to die, but because once they inevitably do, we feel less bad than if the characters had been sympathetic. Tom Walker and his wife are hard to feel sorry for. They are not only the kind of people who would rush into their doom, but they actively try to bargain it for themselves. They fight each other over who gets to be doomed. At no point in the story could it be said that they don't understand who Old Scratch really is. So, they can imagine their sad fate, or at least they should. Yet it never crosses their mind to save themselves or anyone else, for that matter.

As people, therefore, Tom Walker and his wife are the perfect prey for Old Scratch, fighting each other for the chance to be cut down by him first.

What are the characteristics of Tom Walker and his wife in "The Devil and Tom Walker"?

Washington Irving made sure that his protagonist in this tale was a miserable specimen of humanity. Usually in literature the protagonist is characterized as "the good guy," but this story is a shining example ofr how that isn't always the case.

Tom Walker and his wife are characterized as stingy, miserly, quarrelsome, and generally unlikeable. Mrs. Walker is bossy and crafty, hiding money from her husband while making sure she knows exactly what he does with his money. Tom Walker isn't any more pleasant. He allows his house and property to fall apart rather than spend money to maintain it, and even his animals would rather be somewhere else.

Their relationship is so dysfunctional that Tom refuses the devil's original offer because it might please Mrs. Walker. She, on the other hand, determines to cash in on the treasure no matter the cost.

Neither could be said to be a good neighbor, and in the end, they get what they deserve.

What are the five essential plot elements in "The Devil and Tom Walker"?

Exposition - Tom Walker, an old miserly man, walks through a forest said by many to be haunted; it is guarded by the Devil. The Devil offers him a deal for his soul, which Tom says he will consider

Rising Action - Tom tells his wife of the deal, who encourages him to take it. The two of them have a terrible relationship, so Tom declines the deal with the Devil mostly to annoy his wife. She goes into the forest and attempts the make the deal herself and disappears. Tom goes to look for her and realizes she's gone forever.  

Climax --  Tom reconsiders and makes the deal with the Devil to be lucrative but unfair money lender. His soul will belong to the Devil upon his death.

Falling Action -- Tom lives his life swindling people out of money by instituting loans with unfair interest rates. Near the end of his life he begins to fear for his soul, so he begins to carry around a bible and attend church. He does not change his behaviors. 

Resolution - Tom's attempt to save his soul doesn't work, probably because he never truly changed his heart or his behaviors. He is taken by a figure on horseback and all of his money and other goods are turned to ash. 

What are the five essential plot elements in "The Devil and Tom Walker"?

1. Kidd the Pirate left buried gold on the banks of Boston. He eventually died and the devil now guards the hiding place.

2. Tom Walker takes a shortcut home through the swamp and meets Old Scratch, who is the devil. He offers Tom a large sum of money in exchange for certain conditions. Tom says he has to talk it over with his wife.

3. Tom and his wife do not like each other. They are described as mean and greedy. Tom's wife wants him to make the deal, but Tom doesn't want to share any wealth with his wife. She gets angry with him, and goes off to make the deal herself. When she doesn't return, Tom goes searching for her. He only finds her heart and liver and assumes she is dead. He is actually quite happy about this. He is now free to make the deal by himself.

4. Tom makes the deal and becomes a corrupt money lender. He moves to Boston and lives a life of wealth and corruption. He soon becomes disenchanted with this life and worries about his life. He starts going to church to try to find salvation.

5. His attempts for salvation don't work. He hears a knock at his door and a black horse and a black figure await him. He is thrown on the horse and taken to his demise. The final payment for his deal with the devil.

What is Irving satirizing in the story, "The Devil and Tom Walker"?

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 institution of marriage by depicting Tom's unhappy, violent marriage. Despite being completely incompatible with each other, the couple refuses to split and continues to live in misery together. Tom and his wife both bring out the worst in each other and their notorious feuds often become violent. Their hostile relationship provides humor to the story, and Tom feels relieved when his wife disappears after visiting Old Scratch.

Irving also satires the extremely religious, self-righteous Puritan citizens by illustrating the names of prominent men carved into the trees on Old Scratch's property. Characters like Reverend Peabody and Absalom Crowninshield represent corrupt Puritan authority figures that Irving uses to depict the debased nature of many self-righteous individuals. Even Tom Walker’s religious conversion satirizes corrupt Christians, who appear to be holy but are actually wicked sinners.

During Tom Walker’s meeting with Old Scratch, Irving satirizes the slave trade when Tom refuses to use the devil’s money to fund a slave-trading operation. Despite Tom Walker’s immoral nature and willingness to strike a deal with the devil, his refusal to participate in the slave trade is satirical of institutionalized slavery.

What is Irving satirizing in the story, "The Devil and Tom Walker"?

Irving is talking satirizing people who show insincere piety and in reality are greedy or covetous.  In the story, Tom Walker makes a pact with the devil for wealth.  The devil comes through on his end of the bargain by making Walker wealthy.  Walker is a money lender who lends money at an extremely high rate of interest.  When Walker is accused of usury by one of his clients, he shouts, "May the devil take me if I have made a farthing!"  Of course, he has made much more than a farthing and the devil does indeed take him.  Earlier in the story, before the pact is made with the devil, Walker rests in the woods where he meets the devil.  On the trees are the names of many people Walker knows from the area who are rich, some of them people who are outwardly pious.  All of these people, the devil tells Tom Walker, are people with whom he's made contracts.

What is the rising action in "The Devil and Tom Walker"?

Rising action is singular, and that is what makes it a bit frustrating because rarely does a story have a single rising action. Generally speaking, a story's rising action is anything that happens after the story's exposition and before the story's climax. That could be a lot of different actions. Readers are introduced to Tom, his wife, their dilapidated house, and their horribly skinny horse. From there, the rising actions begin. Tom is taking a short cut, and he comes across the Devil. From there, the story begins to build tension. Tom learns that many great men have given themselves over to the Devil's side, and the Devil proposes that Tom do the same in exchange for great riches. Tom decides to think about it, and he even tells his wife. She urges Tom to take the deal, and Tom (out of spite) refuses; therefore, she decides to make the deal herself and disappears. Tom then decides to make the deal with the Devil, and he becomes a very wealthy man. Nearing the story's climax, Tom does everything that he can in order to avoid the Devil's final claim. This is the end of the rising action sequence as the Devil comes to take Tom away right after he loudly proclaims "The devil take me, . . . if I have made a farthing!"

What is the rising action in "The Devil and Tom Walker"?

The rising action in "The Devil and Tom Walker" by Washington Irving consists of all the events that take place between the devil and Tom before the turning point of the story when Tom refuses to pay the devil his due share of the profits.  Tom first meets the devil while walking through a detour in the swamp, and here their relationship begins.  Later, the devil presumably kills Tom's wife and men in town who are guilty of bad acts.  The devil senses Tom's greed and proposes that they strike a bargain.  The action rises as Tom agrees to become a usurer for the devil--Tom believes that he is going to get rich, while the reader understands that Tom has made an unbreakable pact with the devil.  Tom does become wealthy, and his greedy acts continue to make the action of the story rise.  This heightened tension is then challenged when the devil comes to reclaim the money and Tom must make a choice.  His refusal to submit to the devil ends the rising action and the turning point in the story occurs.

How does Irving's use of imagery in "The Devil and Tom Walker" portray Tom Walker?

An example of the imagery that Irving uses to explore Tom Walker's character is provided towards the beginning of the story, when the reader is first introduced to Tom Walker and his wife, and the setting where they live. It is clear from the actual description of Tom's marriage that what defines him above all else is greed, as the description of how he and his wife hide even a hen's egg from each other and try to keep it for themselves demonstrate. But note the image that is given of the house and the surroundings that is given and how this reinforces the impression of their characters:

They lived in a forlorn looking house, that stood alone and had an air of starvation. A few straggling savin trees, emblems of sterility, grew near it; no smoke ever curled from its chimney; no traveller stopped at its door. A miserable horse, whose ribs were as articulate as the bars of a gridiron, stalked about a field where a thin carpet of moss, scarcely covering the ragged beds of pudding stone, tantalized and balked his hunger; and sometimes he would lean his head over the fence, look piteously at the passer by, and seem to petition deliverance from this land of famine.

The trees are themselves identified as "emblems of sterility," which is symbolic of the kind of life Tom and his wife enjoy, and even the house is said to be "forlorn" and to have "an air of starvation." Note how hyperbole is employed in the description of the horse, whose "ribs were as articulate as the bars of a gridiron." The simile here conveys just how little it is fed. Clearly any man who would keep their horse in such a condition is incredibly cruel because the horse is obviously starving and very poorly treated by Tom. These images therefore reinforce Tom's central character flaw, which is greed.

What are three character traits of Tom Walker?

Tom Walker is very miserly, or unwilling to spend money. He and his wife, who is also miserly, hide their belongings from each other and live in a dilapidated house in which there is never a fire in the hearth.

Tom is also unafraid and bold, even when he wanders into a swamp that is the domain of the devil. Anyone else would have felt frightened about lingering in this gloomy place that is rumored to have been where Native Americans made sacrifices to an evil spirit years before. However, Tom Walker does not show the normal trepidation of others and decides to remain in the swamp until he comes upon the devil.

Finally, Tom Walker is incredibly greedy. When the devil tells him about treasure that was buried by Kidd, a pirate, years before, Tom is willing to sell his soul to the devil. 

What are three character traits of Tom Walker?

Washington Irving uses both direct and indirect characterization to portray the personality traits of Tom Walker in the short story "The Devil and Tom Walker." In the second paragraph Irving comes right out and says that Tom was "meager and miserly." By "miserly," Irving means that Tom was simply greedy, which may be his most prominent character trait. In an example of indirect characterization, Irving writes that Tom's house was miserable and starved because he spent no money on it. When Tom meets the incarnation of the devil in a dark forest, he is instantly intrigued by the idea that he could get from the devil all the riches he wanted. Thus, he enters into a deal with "old scratch," agreeing to become a usurious money lender in exchange for instant wealth. Tom is so greedy that when the devil suggests he lend money at two percent a month, Tom says he will charge four percent.

Tom is also grimly determined and eager. After his wife disappears Tom is dedicated to finding the "black woodsman" and making a deal with him. Irving writes,

He sought, therefore, to cultivate a further acquaintance with him, but for some time without success; the old blacklegs played shy, for whatever people may think, he is not always to be had for calling for; he knows how to play his cards when pretty sure of his game.

Not dissuaded, Tom eventually tracks down "old scratch" and makes his deal. As he grows older, Tom also becomes determined to avoid his fate. He takes up religion and Irving reports he was a "violent church-goer" always carrying a Bible and praying loudly during church services. As he has cheated his neighbors, he seeks to do the same to the devil.

Finally, Tom is downright mean spirited. He cheats his neighbors and starves his horses. Just before he is taken away by a "black man" on a "black horse" Tom is in the middle of foreclosing on the mortgage of a supposed friend. Even though the man claims he will be ruined and needs just "a few month's indulgence," Tom is unperturbed and refuses the man's pleas. Tom suggests that he has to take care of himself and cannot be providing charity despite the man's claims that Tom has made plenty of money from the mortgage. In a fitting ending to this episode, Tom says,

"The Devil take me...if I have made a farthing."

Just then he is "whisked" off to the dark forest and never seen again.

What are some examples of Romanticism in "The Devil and Tom Walker"?

Romanticism is tied closely to nationalism. It is associated with the rise of nationalist movements in the Italian and German states in the nineteenth century, as well as with the struggle of smaller European states for independence and autonomy. Romanticism's contribution to the rise of nationalism came through its focus on folktales and highly valuing the importance of regionalism, common people, and ethnicity.

This nationalist aspect of Romanticism emerges in Irving's story, which was part of his nation-building project as an author in a new republic. The story is unequivocally set in the United States, near Boston and the Charles River and is permeated with folklore and supernatural elements particular to the Americas. For example, early in the story, the folkore begins as the narrator mentions Kidd, the pirate, burying a treasure under a huge oak near the Charles River. The narrator then says:

The old stories add, moreover, that the devil presided at the hiding of the money, and took it under his guardianship; but this, it is well known, he always does with buried treasure.

History, as the story is set in the early 1700s (Irving was writing a century later) and folklore build up a dense fabric of culture in the story that gives the United States a distinct folk identity.

Romanticism's relationship with individualism is complicated, as the movement decried social evils and was typically politically on the side of radical movements such the French Revolution that wanted to benefit entire communities, but it also placed a very high value on the individual. The idea of the artist as lone genius was begun by the Romantics, and a strain of Romantic literature concerned with individual moral choices emerged. "The Devil and Tom Walker" is part of this strain, which includes works such as Goethe's Faust and Shelley's Frankenstein, which examine the consequences of individual moral choices and the "deals with the devil," explicit and implicit, that people make.

What are some literary devices used in "The Devil and Tom Walker"?

As far as sensory imagery goes, I think Washington Irving is especially skillful in weaving in visual imagery, whether this imagery be tied to people or to locations. Consider, for example, his presentation of Tom's greed: he does not merely tell us that Tom and his wife are greedy; rather, he establishes this through visual descriptions of their behavior, with the wife hiding away whatever she could get her hands on while Tom Walker is shown skulking about, seeking out her hidden treasures. However, his use of sensory imagery is particularly striking in his descriptions of physical locations. Take his description of the house they live in:

They lived in a forlorn-looking house, that stood alone and had an air of starvation. A few straggling savin trees, emblems of sterility, grew near it; no smoke ever curled from its chimney; no traveller stopped at its door.

The visual imagery is particularly striking in Irving's description of the swamps, imbuing this place with menace:

The swamp was thickly grown with great gloomy pines and hemlocks, some of them ninety feet high; which made it dark at noon-day, and a retreat for the owls of the neighborhood. It was full of pits and quagmires, partly covered with weeds and mosses; where the green surface often betrayed the traveler into a gulf and black smothering mud . . . .

Irving also makes use of both similes and metaphors. Take for example the description of Tom Walker's horse:

A miserable horse, whose ribs were as articulate as the bars of a gridiron, stalked about a field where a thin carpet of moss . . . tantalized and balked his hunger.

We have here imagery of starvation, enhanced by the comparison between the horse's ribs and the gridiron. Additionally, Irving makes use of metaphor as well. For example, you can note in the comparison Irving draws between Walker's miserly wife and a hen:

Whatever the woman could lay hands on she hid away; a hen could not cackle, but she was on alert to secure the new-laid egg.

Finally, to give an example of personification, note that, at one point in this story, Washington Irving describes Tom walking in a "treacherous forest."

What are some literary devices used in "The Devil and Tom Walker"?

Washington Irving's narrative sketch, "The Devil and Tom Walker," employs several literary devices.

• Imagery (sensory references)

As a Romantic writer, Irving describes the beauty of the natural setting of his tale. In the exposition, for instance, the narrator uses visual imagery as he describes "a beautiful, dark grove [where] the land rises. . . into a high ridge."

As Tom Walker makes his way through the swamp, he finds himself among "pits and quagmires, partly covered with weeds and mosses" (visual imagery) that often trick the traveler into walking on them. Then, the traveler might sink into "a gulf of smothering mud" (organic imagery). Later, Tom encounters Old Scratch and finds himself looking into "a pair of red eyes" (visual imagery).

As he continues, there is auditory imagery as Tom is startled by the "sudden screaming of the bittern" or "the quacking of a wild duck" or the "boding cry of the tree toad." 

• Personification

The Devil who appears to Tom is personified, or afforded human qualities, with different names: "Old Scratch," "the black man," and "the blacklegs."

In the description of the swamp, the narrator depicts the trunks of the pine and hemlock trees as being "half-drowned."

When Tom returns home and relates his encounter with the devil to his wife, "All her avarice was awakened at the mention of the hidden gold."

• Similes

In addition to that which is mentioned previously, there is another stated comparison that uses like or as:

As Tom Walker picks his way through the forest, he slowly steps on one tuft, then another, "pacing carefully like a cat."

• Metaphor

In an unstated comparison, or metaphor, Tom Walker's house is compared to a "den of discord."

The rust on the weapon which Tom uncovers in his digging is likened to "a dreary memento of the fierce struggle" that took place with the Native American warriors of the past.

What are some literary devices used in "The Devil and Tom Walker"?

The strong imagery in the story appeals to various senses. The swamp is dark and forbidding, "grown with great gloomy pines and hemlocks." It is a visual image of pits, quagmires, weeds, moss, slime, mud, rotting trees, and "stagnant pools" of water. The sounds of thunder claps, howling, hooting owls, and horses' hooves are heard in the story, and the "sweet-smelling" Indian sacrifices are referenced.

The major example of personification is the characterization of evil in the physical form of the devil who appears as a dark man, soiled with soot and dressed in "rude half-Indian garb." In this personification, the devil acts and speaks, luring Tom into a bargain that will cost him his soul.

There are numerous similes and metaphors throughout the story. Tom and his wife's home is metaphorically a "den of discord" and the greed which sweeps over New England is a "great speculating fever that breaks out now and then."

Some of the story's similes include these: The trees rot in the swamp, "looking like alligators sleeping in the mire," and Tom makes his way through the swamp by "pacing carefully, like a cat, along the prostrate trunks of trees."

What are Mrs. Walker's characteristics in "The Devil and Tom Walker"?

Mrs. Walker is a miserly woman always battling with her husband.

Mrs. Walker does not have a good relationship with her husband.  She hides things from him and fights with him.

He had a wife as miserly as himself; they were so miserly that they even conspired to cheat each other. Whatever the woman could lay hands on she hid away …

In many ways, Walker’s wife is described as just as bad as he is.  She was “fierce of temper, loud of tongue, and strong of arm.”  Basically, she was a nagging and possibly abusive wife.  Tom could not wait to get away from her.  It is even suggested that he could easily deal with the devil after having put up with her.

Walker does not normally confide in his wife, but it is not every day that a man gets a chance to make a deal with the devil.  He tells her, and she encourages him to take the chance.

All her avarice was awakened at the mention of hidden gold, and she urged her husband to comply with the black man's terms, and secure what would make them wealthy for life. 

Tom does not want to make a deal with the devil because it is her idea.  This does not stop her.  It is even suggested that she tried to make the deal first, before he could, and that is why she disappeared.  Of course, with her out the way he makes the deal.  He didn't want to share the gold with her, but as long as she was out of the picture that was fine.

To have a wife so bad that the devil is an improvement would be a difficult thing for any man.  Tom is no pillar of virtue, but the implication is that she drove him to it.  He was tired of her miserly ways, and wanted something for himself. 

What rhetorical and literary devices are used in "The Devil and Tom Walker"?

Washington Irving packs his story “The Devil and Tom Walker” full of rhetorical and literary devices, including symbolism, metaphors, similes, vivid imagery, personification, pathos, alliteration, allegory, and satire. Let's look at an example of each of these.

With regard to symbolism, we can look to Tom's wealth, obtained through a deal with the devil and symbolic of Tom's greed and corruption. Metaphor occurs early on when the narrator describes the earthquakes that “shook many tall sinners down upon their knees.” In other words, these people were shaken with fear. We see a simile with regard to Tom's poor horse, “whose ribs were as articulate as the bars of a gridiron.” The poor creature is also personified as he looks longingly and beseechingly at passersby to rescue him.

Imagery abounds in this tale, and the horse is another good example here. Also notice how Irving describes the swamp. We can turn to the horse again for pathos as the author plays on our sympathies for the animal to impress upon us what a nasty character Tom Walker is. Alliteration appears in such expressions as “cracked credit,” and it adds linguistic interest to the text.

Finally, Irving gives us an allegory in this story as he uses Tom Walker, his wife, and the devil to stand for the greed of human nature and the consequences that follow from it. He also includes a good bit of satire, especially about merchants and bankers.

Who are the main characters in "The Devil and Tom Walker"?

Tom Walker is the story's protagonist, who is a greedy, stubborn man with a miserable wife. After meeting Old Scratch in the swamp, he agrees to sell his soul in exchange for Captain Kidd's buried treasure. Tom uses the money to become a wealthy usurer and continually forecloses on people's homes. One day, Tom Walker accidentally tells the devil to take him while speaking to a speculator and Old Scratch carries him to hell.

Old Scratch is the nickname for the devil, who protects Kidd's treasure and makes a deal with Tom Walker to attain his soul in exchange for material wealth. The devil manipulates Tom into giving up his soul in exchange for money. At the end of the story, the devil collects Tom's soul by carrying him to hell.

Tom's wife is portrayed as an ambitious, selfish, termagant woman, who encourages her husband to immediately accept the devil's offer. When Tom initially refuses to agree to the devil's terms, she takes matters into her own hands by approaching Old Scratch in the swamp. Unfortunately, the devil does not make a deal with her and she ends up disappearing. It is suggested that the devil murdered Tom's wife because all Tom found was a heart and liver in her apron.

Captain Kidd buried his treasure in the swamp near Tom's home before the story begins and was eventually hanged in England for his crimes of piracy. The devil currently presides over Kidd's treasure at the beginning of the story.

Deacon Peabody owns the swamp where Tom initially meets Old Scratch. Deacon Peabody is depicted as a hypocrite and Old Scratch points to a tree with his name carved on it, which is rotting on the inside and symbolizes the deacon's corrupt soul.

Absalom Crowninshield was a rich man in Tom's village, who became wealthy through immoral means. Crowninshield's name is also carved on a tree that has been recently hewn down by Old Scratch. When Tom returns home, he discovers that Crowninshield has recently died and remembers the hewn down tree with his name carved on it.

Geoffrey Crayon is the narrator, who retells the story of how Tom Walker sold his soul to the devil for material wealth.

What motivates Tom in The Devil and Tom Walker?

After Tom met "Old Scratch" in the forest, he is offered a deal in which the fortunes that had been buried by Kidd the pirate would be his if he agreed to what the"devil" asked him.  Those details are never told in the story, but it must have been serious, such as the sacrifice of Tom's soul, because Tom needed some time to think about it. However,

"....he(Tom) was not a man to stick to trifles when money was in view." ( paragraph 22)

However, when his wife found out about the conversation he had with the devil, her "avarice", or greediness, took over and she encouraged him to take the deal. Tom decided that if he was going to sell his soul to the devil, he wasn't going to do it because his wife wanted it.  When he didn't respond, she set off herself to find Old Scratch and get the fortune for herself.  All that was found of her is a heart and a liver.  Tom then went in search for Old Scratch himself.  It took a while but,

".....delay had whetted Tom's eagerness to the quick, and prepared him to agree to any thing rather than not gain the promised treasure..."  (paragraph 37)

When Tom meets Old Scratch, there is one condition that the devil insists Tom meet: the business he goes into must

"....be employed in his(the devil's) service" ( paragraph 38)

Tom would not agree to the business of slavery, but he did agree to being a usurer, a money lender. The devil told him,

"You shall extort bonds, foreclose mortgages, drive the merchant into bankruptcy." ( paragraph 45)

Tom agreed to this and was quite happy until nearing the end of his life.  So, his motive was greed.  He wanted to be a successful businessman, a friend of the needy, and VERY RICH.  However, at the end of his life, he became fearful that the devil would want his due.

In Washington Irving's short story, "The Devil and Tom Walker," what characteristics does Mrs. Walker show?

If there is any characteristic that could be attributed to Tom Walker's wife in Washington Irving's short story, "The Devil and Tom Walker," it is avarice. Both Tom and his wife suffer from extraordinarily high levels of insatiable greed that, when combined with their mutual antipathy towards each other, makes for a very questionable marriage. Such is their respective degrees of avarice that Irving's unseen narrator notes early in the story that "they were so miserly that they even conspired to cheat each other." Tom's wife exhibits absolutely no redeeming qualities. Whatever it once was, their marriage has clearly devolved into a perpetual conflict between two small-minded and bitter personalities. That Tom is unable to resist sharing with his wife the content of his conversation with "Old Scratch," the devil, is more a testament to his weakness than to any sense that he hopes to revive their relationship. Indeed, the narrator points out, Tom has decided to reject the devil's offer as much as anything to spite his hateful spouse. It is his wife's response to Tom's information, however, that fully reveals her character. As described in the narrative, "[m]any and bitter were the quarrels they had on the subject, but the more she talked the more resolute was Tom not to be damned to please her."  The wife reacts to Tom's recalcitrance by seeking to make her own deal with the devil, a part of her ultimately unsuccessful maneuver including absconding with what little material wealth they owned to give to Old Scratch. When she fails to return home, Tom sets out to search for her, but not because he loves or misses her. He goes looking because he hopes to retrieve the missing valuables:

"He leaped with joy, for he recognized his wife's apron, and supposed it to contain the household valuables. 'Let us get hold of the property," said he, consolingly to himself, "and we will endeavor to do without the woman'."

This is a marriage made in Hell, with both partners equally avaricious and deserving of a fate worse than death. The one true characteristic of the wife, though, is avarice -- extreme, unrelenting greed.

What is a general statement about Tom Walker in "The Devil and Tom Walker"?

A good general statement about Tom would probably refer to his personality and demeanor, but a better statement would evaluate this as well as his role in the plot and his contribution to the story's message (as this is a clearly moralistic tale and Tom's nature is integral to that moral).

General things we can surmise about Tom is that he is miserly, lacking in taste, wholly consumed by greed, and basically an awful person. The one redeeming trait he was granted in the course of the story was his refusal to participate in slavery. 

The central morals of the story are similar or identical to those that appear in other Faustian tales; corruption and evil bring short-term rewards in exchange for eternal damnation. The main difference regarding Tom is that he is entirely unconcerned with knowledge, self-improvement or the betterment of the physical world, causes for which a Faustian bargain might make his situation more complex and morally interesting. Instead, this story is basically a revenge story; Tom is depicted as "getting what's coming to him." From this, we could make general statements about Tom like "you can judge a book by its cover," "financial success is no substitute for low character" or "the sinful will be punished in good time."

Regarding Tom himself, we could say that his corruption was in fact complete before his deal with Old Scratch; the disappearance of his wife and his gain of the treasure simply allowed him to bring the full depths of his depravity to their greatest articulation.

What does Tom symbolize in "The Devil and Tom Walker"?

Washington Irving's short story "The Devil and Tom Walker" is full of symbolism. Tom himself is primarily a symbol of greed, though later in the story, he also serves as a symbol of hypocrisy.

Tom Walker is introduced as "a meagre miserly fellow," so avaricious and dishonest that he even used to cheat his wife out of whatever money he could. At this point in the story, however, one might attempt partly to excuse Tom's avarice by citing his poverty. Later, however, following his pact with the devil, Tom becomes a prosperous moneylender, living in a fine house. The fact that he continues in his miserly ways shows that his greed is endemic rather than being dictated by circumstances.

Apart from greed, Tom becomes a symbol of hypocrisy at this point. This symbolism is reinforced by his house, which is large and impressive but empty, and by his other possessions, such as his fine carriage with its starved horses. In the same way, Tom becomes ostentatiously religious and apparently "the universal friend of the needy." In fact, however, he practices usury in the most unscrupulous and avaricious manner, never hesitating to bankrupt those he appears to be helping. He therefore adds hypocrisy to his besetting sin of greed.

What are the main parts of the plot in "The Devil and Tom Walker"?

At the beginning of "The Devil and Tom Walker," through exposition, we are introduced to Tom and his wife. They are poor and have an unhappy marriage, fighting over money often. Tom is always trying to find the money his wife has hidden around the house, and sometimes is beaten by his wife. He resents her deeply.

The rising action begins with Tom's shortcut through the swamp, his discovery of the old Indian fort and the skull, which causes the devil to appear before him. The action builds as Tom refuses the devil and explains his adventure to his wife. When she goes off on her own to make a deal with the devil, she never returns; later, Tom finds her liver and heart tied up in her apron and determines that the devil has killed her.

The climax comes when Tom, free of his wife, decides to accept the devil's deal and become rich. Tom is eager for the money and promises the devil that he will become a money lender.

The falling action consists of Tom's successful career as a money lender, exploiting his clients by charging high rates of interest and then foreclosing when they cannot pay. He builds a large house and, after many years, becomes very religious, in part as a hedge against his deal with the devil.

The resolution is when the devil takes Tom's soul. Tom's greediness has been so internalized by him that he begins to believe his own lies about how his clients victimize him. Finally, when he claims in exasperation that "the devil take him" if he has made any money off a loan he was foreclosing, the devil appears and whisks him off, presumably to hell.

What stylistic techniques help build the theme of "The Devil and Tom Walker"?

One of the details that is used as part of the opening of this short story to highlight the theme of greed is that of the setting that is created. Note how the words that are used by Irving to describe the setting match the characteristics of both Tom and his wife and the description that Irving has just given the reader of their personalities:

They lived in a forlorn looking house, that stood alone and had an air of starvation. A few straggling savin trees, emblems of sterility, grew near it; no smoke ever curled from its chimney; no traveller stopped at its door.

The choice of vocabulary is clearly meant to further reinforce the kind of character that Tom and his wife have: the house is "forlorn" and it has an "air of starvation." Even the trees are few in number and "straggling," and the narrator, rather heavy-handedly perhaps, highlights that they are meant to be seen as symbols of "sterility." The greed that dominates Tom and his wife stretches not only to their abode but also to the nature that surrounds them. This is a house of extreme want, and the miserly nature of Tom and his wife is shown to be so strong that it influences their immediate environment.

How do the character traits in "The Devil and Tom Walker" enable the story?

Washington Irving's "The Devil and Tom Walker" is a text which tells the story of a man who sells his soul to the Devil in order to get himself out of his miserable life. Tom's is a miserly and miserable man. He refuses to spend any money and hoards every penny he can. Similarly, Tom's wife is also a miser. Both of the characters are so cheap and miserly that they steal and hoard from each other. They make each other utterly miserable. 

Given the nature of the couple, their hatred of each other helps to make the story more believable. While one may not believe in the materialization of the Devil as a man who walks in the swamps, one can tend to picture a very unhappily married couple. 

This couple is so unhappy that each of them consider the proposition the Devil has made. Although the Devil made the proposition to Tom, Tom's wife tries to take the deal. She realizes that she can have even more wealth then her husband by doing so. 

Essentially, the greedy nature of the couple propels the story forward. Tom's wife goes to make the pact with the Devil and never returns. Having nothing to fear, Tom makes the pact with the Devil and goes on to lead the life of a usurer (money lender). This leads to Tom's own death when he chides the Devil. Without the pressure put on him by his wife, Tom never would have chosen to take the deal offered by the Devil. 

What character traits does Tom Walker possess in "The Devil and Tom Walker"?

In "The Devil and Tom Walker", Tom Walker is widely know for being a stingy and greedy man. The narrator describes Tom as being so stingy that he and his wife try to deny each other food. Tom continues to be stingy even after he has become wealthy after making a deal with the devil. After becoming wealthy he builds a large house in Boston to show off his wealth but he leaves the inside unfinished and unfurnished. In addition to being incredibly stingy, Tom is also greedy and rapacious. He sells his soul to the devil in exchange for the treasure of a famous pirate; however, even this treasure is not enough to satisfy Tom. He goes on to use the money to set up shop as a usurer or money lender in Boston. Tom is notorious for taking his clients for all that they are worth and driving them into default with his outrageous terms. Ultimately, Tom's greed and stinginess lead him to a horrible fate as the devil comes for him and carries him off on horseback. He is never seen or heard from again.