A Life of Selfishness and Greed The author of “The Devil and Tom Walker”, Washington Irving, became a famed author of 19th century America. He was born in New York and became one of the first American fiction authors to gain international acclaim. Irving began his career writing satire essays, and he was specifically known for his works, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “Rip Van Winkle.” In his work “The Devil and Tom Walker”, he tells the story of a man and woman whose greed was to such an extent that they both made deals with the devil. The couple found that their selfishness and greed would lead them nowhere, except into the devil’s house. Irving expressed the greed of Tom Walker and his wife throughout the story in the setting, the characters,
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The Walker home was described as “forlorn-looking”, meaning it was desolate and dreary. The Walkers had no interest in maintaining of the condition of their home due to the cost required. Irving made their home so grotesque and run down that it was like an image as out of a horror film. In another description of their home, it says that no smoke had ever “curled” out of the house’s chimney. The couple were even stingy when it came to firewood, which they did not want to buy or burn. Irving distinctly described their living property: “A miserable horse, whose ribs were as articulate as the bars of a gridiron” (Irving 230). In this gaudy metaphor of the Walker’s horse, it depicts the image of a starving horse that was unfed by its selfish owners. These thoughts of a starving horse reappear later in the story despite the fact that Tom was a rich man. After becoming a money broker, Tom built a large house. He left it unfurnished and had an unkempt carriage with a starved horse to draw it. Irving's imagery continued to depict greed and was seen in the characters he …show more content…
The two would fight amongst each other and hoard wealth, giving them a bad name:” The house and its inmates had altogether a bad name.” (230). When Tom Walker was given an offer by the devil; he took the offer home and shared it with his wife. Through her character, Irving showed the extreme greed in this situation: “At length she determined to drive the bargain on her own account, and if she succeeded, to keep all the gain to herself” (233). However, this then showed the true character of Tom, when his wife did not return and his greed took over. After the day went by he went out to seek his wife, not for her safety, but because of what she took with her. Nonetheless, when he found her, she was dead. The Devil then gave him a deal to receive treasure and to start a money broker business to scam people. Irving displays more of Tom’s greed for money after the Devil told him to start the broker business a month later, and he decided to start the next day. The author not only depicted their greed for riches in the selfish acts of the characters, but also in the conflict involved with the characters
The Walker home was described as “forlorn-looking”, meaning it was desolate and dreary. The Walkers had no interest in maintaining of the condition of their home due to the cost required. Irving made their home so grotesque and run down that it was like an image as out of a horror film. In another description of their home, it says that no smoke had ever “curled” out of the house’s chimney. The couple were even stingy when it came to firewood, which they did not want to buy or burn. Irving distinctly described their living property: “A miserable horse, whose ribs were as articulate as the bars of a gridiron” (Irving 230). In this gaudy metaphor of the Walker’s horse, it depicts the image of a starving horse that was unfed by its selfish owners. These thoughts of a starving horse reappear later in the story despite the fact that Tom was a rich man. After becoming a money broker, Tom built a large house. He left it unfurnished and had an unkempt carriage with a starved horse to draw it. Irving's imagery continued to depict greed and was seen in the characters he …show more content…
The two would fight amongst each other and hoard wealth, giving them a bad name:” The house and its inmates had altogether a bad name.” (230). When Tom Walker was given an offer by the devil; he took the offer home and shared it with his wife. Through her character, Irving showed the extreme greed in this situation: “At length she determined to drive the bargain on her own account, and if she succeeded, to keep all the gain to herself” (233). However, this then showed the true character of Tom, when his wife did not return and his greed took over. After the day went by he went out to seek his wife, not for her safety, but because of what she took with her. Nonetheless, when he found her, she was dead. The Devil then gave him a deal to receive treasure and to start a money broker business to scam people. Irving displays more of Tom’s greed for money after the Devil told him to start the broker business a month later, and he decided to start the next day. The author not only depicted their greed for riches in the selfish acts of the characters, but also in the conflict involved with the characters