Similarities Between The Devil And Tom Walker

Romantic Literature is a well-known section of American Literature. Each type of literature has its own themes and style that makes it unique. A famous author in romantic literature is Washington Irving. One of Irving’s most popular stories is The Devil and Tom Walker.
One romantic theme in The Devil and Tom Walker is supernatural and spiritual. In The Devil and Tom Walker the devil is described as a physical character that interacts with other characters in the story. For Example, when Tom saw the devil in the forest he is described as, “...the stranger was neither negro nor Indian. It is true he was dressed in a rude 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.” (Irving) Another example is when all of Tom’s fortune is turned to ash and shavings

after Tom went missing. When trustees were appointed to Tom’s effects, “There was nothing, however, to administer upon. On searching his coffers, all his bonds and mortgages were reduced to cinders.” (Irving) Those two examples are supernatural and spiritual because they do not actually exist in life and can’t happen.
Another romantic theme present in The Devil and Tom Walker is the appreciation of nature.

For example, the shortcut Tom took to the old Indian fort is described in detail. It is described as, “Here they had thrown up a kind of fort, which they had looked upon as almost impregnable, and had used as a place of refuge for their squaws and children. Nothing remained of the old Indian fort but a few embankments, gradually sinking to the level of the surrounding earth, and already overgrown in part by oaks and other forest trees.” (Irving) In addition to the description of the shortcut, Irving also describes the trees near the old Indian fort as, “...and beheld one of the great trees, fair and flourishing without, but rotten at the core, and saw that it had been nearly hewn through, so that the first high wind was likely to blow it down. On the bark of the tree was scored the name of Deacon Peabody.” (Irving) The two descriptions from the story are appreciation of nature because they show the author's appreciation and love of the

outdoors.
One last romantic theme in The Devil and Tom Walker is characters and places as symbols. Many of the characters and places symbolized something important in the story that people throughout the world can relate to. Tom knew the stranger as Old Scratch, but when he asked him who he was he said, “I go by various names. I am the wild huntsman in some countries; the black miner in others. In this neighborhood I am known by the name of the black woodsman. I am he whom the red men consecrated this spot, and in honor of whom they now and then roasted a white man, by way of sweet smelling sacrifice.” (Irving) In addition to the devil being a symbol, the old Indian fort represents a gateway to hell. After Old Scratch and Tom conversed, Tom watched the devil leave, “He turned off among the thickets of the swamp, and seemed, as Tom said, to go down, down, down, into the earth, until nothing but his head and shoulders could be seen, and so on, until he totally disappeared.” (Irving) The devil and the fort are symbols because they each represent an important part of the story.
American literature has many sections including romantic literature. In romantic literature there are many themes that differentiate it from other kinds of literature. Some of the themes include supernatural and spiritual, appreciation of nature, and characters as symbols. Those themes are used by Washington Irving in The Devil and Tom Walker.