The Devil And Tom Walker Essay

Washington Irving is one of the pioneers in the literature that defined American literature in the early colonial period in the United States. Irving defined American folklore with his publications that were loosely inspired by German fairytales created by the Grimm brothers. His Short story “the Devil and Tom Walker” is a timeless piece of literature that encompasses the mystery of the unknown in the early colonial time period that Irving grew up in. Irving himself grew up wealthy, but always showed a dislike for wealthy business men that acquired their wealth from ill-gotten ways. These opinions clearly leak into many of his writings that he has published throughout his career. Irving's "The devil and Tom Walker" was one of the first pieces

of true American literature that shows the level of corruptness that the human nature allows when temptation and greed are introduced.
In the short story tom deals with the devil and the devil reveals how a man can be corrupted when they allow temptation to invest their character.

“In “The Devil and Tom Walker,” set in New England in the early 1700s, a narrator relates a story he has heard about a local man’s dealings with the devil (Wilson, Kathleen).” This statement shows a brief overview of the short story about Tom Walker and the Devil. After Tom makes a deal with the devil he attempts to cheat the devil by attending church in hope that it will save his soul. "When Tom grows old, he begins to worry about the terms of his deal with the devil and suddenly becomes a “violent church-goer” in an effort to cheat the devil out of receiving his soul (Wilson, Kathleen).” In his old age he starts to come to a realization that he is doomed to fall into the Devil’s hands and tries to slip his way out of their deal. Tom’s efforts are in vain as the Devil still comes for his rotted soul in the end. ” Nevertheless, one morning the devil conies calling and instantly whisks Tom away on a black horse in the midst of a thunderstorm to the Indian fort in the woods, never to be seen again (Wilson, Kathleen).” Tom is eventually taken away by the Devil and is never seen again. In the forest his tree rotted to the core signaling the end of Tom

Walker.
In the short story there are a few common themes that stand out which are corruption, greed and hypocrisy.

Tom easily corrupted by the devil because his heart is already filled with greed and temptation. “Through this setting, Irving suggests that if one’s heart is full of mud and quicksand, one is likely to encounter and succumb to temptation. (Wilson, Kathleen)” This statement is a representation of what Irving describes in his short story. Another prevalent theme in the story is the idea of hypocrisy. “In a further example of hypocrisy, Tom insists on keeping his deals with customers, which drive them to ruin, but then he conspires to cheat the devil on the terms of their own deal. (Wilson, Kathleen)” This shows more of Tom’s true character and that he only wishes to save his own skin, but these actions only contribute more to the rotting of his tree. Finally the last major theme of the story is the greed that mankind shows when they are corrupted. “Initially, Tom is so greedy that he declines because he would have to share the fortune with his wife. (Wilson, Kathleen)” Tom is so greed that he declines the Devil in order to keep the wealth from his wife so that she will not be rich

too.
Irving tells this short story turned folktale in a unique way in an attempt to develop a new American style of writing. “This story is narrated by Geoffrey Crayon, a fictional character created by Irving who appears in a number of the author’s works. (Wilson, Kathleen)”
This narrator helps to forge the story into an American folktale that would be passed down for generations. Irving also utilizes an allegory throughout his story that shapes into an original piece of work. “Tom Walker, an unscrupulous moneylender, makes a pact with the devil and only later professes religious beliefs. Through these actions, Tom represents religious hypocrisy, which Irving shows will be punished. (Moss, Joyce and Wilson, George)” Irving uses this to show that there are punishments for your actions and trying to run from them is useless.
The thing that truly makes this literary piece stand out as a true American piece is the time period and setting in which the events are carried out. “New England had been settled by Puritans in the early seventeenth century. (Moss, Joyce and Wilson, George)” This is important to the story because of the intense religious views of the residents deeply form the story and shape the story into a folktale. This was also the start of the industrial revolution which drove American capitalism. “The Industrial Revolution fueled Romantic sentiments as well. (Moss, Joyce and Wilson, George)” This is what began the great American dream to become rich and wealthy. Along with the Industrial revolution came the great awakening which was an intense religious movement. “From the mid-1700s through the beginning of the 1800s, the country went through a period of religious reactions to the spiritual apathy of the early eighteenth century. (Moss, Joyce and Wilson, George)” This Helped Irving relates to the population of the area with his story and adds truth to it with the support of religion which turned it into a folktale.
Irving writes this story in order to show how corruptible man can be when they act selfishly in the face of temptation and presented wealth, but eventually that individual will have to answer for the all of the wrong deeds that they have performed. Tom accepted his deal with the Devil, but he had to scam people that had hit hard times out of their hard earned money so that he could gain further wealth. Even as Tom tries to cheat the Devil he ultimately has to face the music and answer for what he did. In the short story, “The Devil and Tom Walker,” Irving points out the many imperfections that mankind possesses, and then describes what happens when those imperfections overshadow an individual’s own moral code.