The Devil And Tom Walker Essay

“Tom 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.” The Devil and Tom Walker takes place a few miles from Boston, Massachusetts, inland from the Charles Bay. The short story was written in 1824, by Washington Irving. Tom Walker is the protagonist of the story, one day he takes a shortcut home, he goes through the forest which is also a swamp and meets the devil known as “Old Scratch.” Tom sells his soul to Old Scratch, in order to make agreements with him. The Devil and Tom Walker is the best example of Romanticism by demonstrating the tenets of Individuality, Nature is a form of spirituality, and Interest in things outside the realm of the “normal.”

A tenet of romanticism is individuality, individuality is a particular person or thing that distinguishes them from the others. As far as the romantic quality of individuality goes, the author specifically portrays Tom as an individual which is someone who makes his own path in life, and who really does not seem to care what others think about him. An example of this would be how he lives his life, Tom makes the deal with the devil to upset his wife who can be described as rude, and wretched. Tom sells his soul to the devil and does not care what anyone says, but when he makes the deal with the devil it has to be Tom’s was or no way. In addition to this The Devil and Tom Walker also shows individuality when there is a devil in the story,…