The Devil And Tom Walker Analysis Essay

The Devil and Tom Walker is a short story that teaches the readers a valuable lesson. The lesson learned, or moral, that Washington Irving is trying to portray in this story is that greed leads you down the wrong path and self-destruction. Tom Walker and his wife had an unhappy marriage. Tom was known as a miser, his wife would hide food from him, and she is described as "fierce of temper," "loud of tongue," and "strong of arm." He was eager to go into the woods to escape from their bitter relationship, but only for a short break. When Tom digs up an old skull, he summons the devil who presents an offer to him. In exchange for his soul, he can have all the treasure that is said to have been buried by Captain Kidd. Tom declines the first offer, but once his wife decides to try to accept the offer and the devil punishes her, Tom is quick to accept the second time. 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. He reads the bible obsessively and prays loudly and long in church each week. Among the townspeople, "Tom's zeal became as notorious as his riches." Nevertheless, one morning the devil comes 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. What happens to Tom Walker is symbolic of what can happen to any human consumed by …show more content…
These characters and surrounding areas can be viewed on two different levels which makes “The Devil and Tom Walker” an allegory. Overall, the theme of greed is very well expressed by Irving through Tom,who himself represents greed, his wife, and the trees in the woods. The theme of temptation is represented by Old Scratch, and the punishment of temptation is directly represented by the death of Tom walker’s