Romanticism In The Devil And Tom Walker

Romanticism in “The Devil and Tom Walker” From the early 18th century through to the beginnings of the Civil War, a literary movement known as Romanticism emerged as the main style of writing in America. Characterized by a religious response to nature, self-interest, and a fascination with the supernatural, Romanticism replaced the Enlightenment period writing style, inspiring an idealistic attitude among people. Washington Irving, an influential author of the Romantic period, wrote “The Devil and Tom Walker”, a story whose characters and descriptions embody the qualities of Romanticism. After selling his soul to the devil, Tom Walker spends the rest of his life making a fortune for himself while cheating innocent people out of their assets.

Tom Walker takes a shortcut through the swamp. Although, “the swamp was thickly grown with great gloomy pines and hemlocks, some of them ninety feet high; which made it dark at noonday,... It was full of pits and quagmires, partly covered with weeds and mosses; where the green surface often betrayed the traveler into a gulf of black smothering mud; there were also dark and stagnant pools,... and where trunks of pines and hemlocks lay half drowned, half rotting, looking like alligators, sleeping in the mire” (Irving), Tom ventured in anyway. Typically in Romanticism, nature has a positive effect on its visitor, acting as a mental and spiritual escape. Irving, however, takes a different approach: using nature to conjure up a negative situation instead of a positive, renewing one. Even when the devil approaches Walker in the swamp, he is not, “troubled with any fears of the kind” as he, “was a hard-minded fellow, not easily daunted, and he had lived so long with a termagant wife, that he did not even fear the devil” (Irving). This attitude will secure his unfortunate demise. The devil promises Walker wealth beyond his belief, on one condition: the devil takes ownership of Tom’s soul. After a lifetime of scamming innocent people out of their money, the devil comes back for Mr. Tom Walker, whisking him away into the forest just as he had entered it-

A fascination with the supernatural is what results in Tom’s demise. While choosing to take the shortcut through the morass proves to be the initial mistake, it is the devil’s cunning, convincing persuasive tactics that altered Tom’s decision making skills. When the, “great black man” (Irving) appears before Walker, he is, “surprised” (Irving) at best, not giving off any air of fear. The Devil and Tom Walker converse like nothing is odd about the situation, and before Tom continues his trek home, he strikes a deal with the devil- who has taken a liking to Tom. Old Scratch will grant Mr. Walker a prosperous, wealthy, life; in exchange for his soul. Blinded by the offer, Walker agrees, never dreaming that one day the devil would come back to uphold his end of the deal. In this story, Irving uses a fascination with the supernatural as an opportunity for Tom Walker to achieve his goals. In all aspects, Washington Irving’s, “The Devil and Tom Walker” is a classic example of American Romanticism. It incorporates all of the defining characteristics of Romanticism in literary works, and makes them stand out. Irving uses nature’s influence, Tom Walker’s miserly outlook, and the weight of supernatural strength, to shape his story, resulting in the story’s exemplar position as the best illustration of American