The devil and tom walker summary sparknotes. Devil And Tom Walker Poem Analysis 2022-10-15
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In "The Devil and Tom Walker," Washington Irving tells the story of a miserly man named Tom Walker who lives in a swampy area near Boston. One day, while Tom is out walking, he comes across a mysterious black man who claims to be the Devil. The Devil tells Tom that he can have all the wealth he desires, but in exchange, Tom must promise to do something for him at a later date.
Despite his initial reservations, Tom agrees to the deal and becomes extremely wealthy. However, he becomes increasingly greedy and miserly, hoarding all of his wealth and refusing to share it with anyone, including his wife.
One day, Tom's wife disappears, and it is rumored that she has run off with a pirate. Tom is relieved, as he no longer has to share his wealth with her. However, he begins to suspect that the Devil has something to do with her disappearance.
One night, Tom goes to the swamp to meet with the Devil and demand answers. The Devil tells Tom that his wife has been taken to Hell, and that it is now Tom's turn to fulfill his end of the bargain. Tom realizes that he has made a deal with the Devil and tries to back out, but it is too late. The Devil takes Tom to Hell with him, and Tom's fate is left unknown.
In "The Devil and Tom Walker," Irving presents a cautionary tale about the dangers of greed and the consequences of making deals with the Devil. The story serves as a warning to readers to be careful about what they wish for and to always be mindful of the possible consequences of their actions.
The Devil and Tom Walker Study Guide
That Tom's fortune comes from the ill-gotten gains of a pirate only further cements the amorality of greed. Finally Tom decides he wants the treasure he was promised, and he sets out to find Old Scratch once again. Tom has become the victim of the devil's usury, and the devil has foreclosed on his soul. All the nearby trees are similarly marked with the names of great men from the colony, including the one Tom is sitting on, which bears the name of Crowninshield, a mighty man rich from buccaneering who, the devil tells Tom, is ready to burn. The crowd inside the tavern were unable to conclude an explainable conclusion and believed that this supernatural phenomenon was derived from the Devil himself. Tom's wife is as miserly as he is but with a temper.
Tom asks for proof that the devil is telling the truth, so Old Scratch presses his finger to Tom's forehead and places a black print "which nothing could obliterate. The story takes place during 1724 in the colony of Massachusetts when Tom Walker, who is a greedy miser, happens to meet an old lumberjack in the nearby swamp. The two haggle for a while, and Old Scratch insists that if he is to give Tom the money, Tom must use it in service to the devil. GradeSaver, 25 May 2014 Web. She is gone many hours, and returns home quiet and sullen. In this short story, the devil, called Old Scratch, offers Tom Walker money and power in exchange for his soul. Each tree has a person's name inscribed.
Another The Devil And Tom Walker Retold Analysis 548 Words 3 Pages The Devil and Tom Walker Retold Tom Walker was on his way to his home in the big city of Boston, MA. Even if Irving's narrative later makes it clear that he views working in the slave trade as an evil far worse than greedābecause even a miserly, horrible man like Tom Walker finds it too awful to practiceāhis devil is characterized as uncivilized, devious, and frightening through an activation of racial prejudices in the reader. Irving then moves on to the heart of the story and introduces us to Tom and his wife, explaining that they are miserly and mean. Later, Tom regrets everything and repents , and the devil took him back on a black horse and never to be seen again. But this Tom adamantly refuses.
'The Devil and Tom Walker' Summary and Study Guide
Although Kidd's treasure is mentioned only briefly, most of Irving's contemporary readers would have known the story. Tom realizes that this is the man commonly called Tom can't help but share the secret with his wife, who is immediately enticed by the promise of gold; only to contradict her, however, Tom tells her he isn't planning on taking the deal. Walker's wife Walker's wife is such a minor character that her name is never given, but she can be likened to her husband in her miserly nature and volatile temper. The concept of selling one's soul to the devil turns on these conflicted priorities; a person can acquire their greatest desire in their mortal life while postponing payment to the afterlife. The stranger states that he owns the grounds, and he proves it by showing Tom the tree with Deacon Peabody's name on it; the tree is "flourishing" on the outside but is "rotten at the core. Plot Irving frames the story as an old legend, with witnesses who have passed the story down over the years giving it some validity for his audience. Carrying the Bible cannot save him as Tom never lived by its words.
Old Scratch is the one who is offering Tom to make a deal. The stranger identifies himself by a variety of names and deeds, and Tom recognizes that he is the devil, whom Tom refers to by the nickname, "Old Scratch. Determined to follow through on the deal herself, she takes all the valuables in their house as bribes for Old Scratch and sets off to find him. On his way, Tom started feeling reluctant about going home. Tom is never seen again.
How to write an essay on Devil and Tom Walker SparkNotes
She goes into the swamplands twice, hoping that Old Scratch would make a deal with her instead of her husband. He also carries Bibles with him at all timesāone in his coat pocket, one on his counting house deskāto ward off Old Scratch. Tom remembers the rotten tree and figures Old Scratch was real. Frankl recalls that many prisoners, including himself, would hold onto visions of their loved ones to help get them through. Kidd's subsequent travels brought him to Boston, where he was caught.
Walker contemplates this meeting with the devil, and recognizes that wealth is the first priority for him. He is a greedy man who desires riches. Walker hadn't obliged to his wife, and due to his wife's acute greediness set out on her own journey to acquire that gold. Near the inlet where Kidd buried his treasure there lives, in a forlorn house with an air of starvation about it and a starving horse in the field nearby, a poor miser named Tom Walker, who is married to a an ill-tempered, fierce, loud, strong wife as miserly as himself. It is a very strong statement, for death, in the non-literary world, is not typically associated with anything poetical. The devil in disguise tells Walker about the treasure, saying that he controls it but will give it to Tom for a price. Buy Study Guide A After spending the day in a distant part of the neighborhood, Tom Walker takes a shortcut back home through a swamp.
The Devil and Tom Walker by Washington Irving Plot Summary
Tom, however, is not afraid of such things. Irving incorporates all of these real-world events in his story to suggest how human depravity, greed, economic scarcity, and religious hypocrisy conspire to lead human beings into temptation, sin, and damnation. After he tells her of his meeting, she meets with Old Scratch herself, but tells her husband that Old Scratch requires an offering. Walker lends money freely, but he is merciless in his dealings and ruins the lives of many borrowers, often repossessing their property. The narrative is further separated from its true source by the date in which it occurred. This inlet is flanked by a beautiful grove on one side and a ridge on the other from which huge oaks grow, under one of which, as the old stories have it, Captain Kidd the pirate buried a great amount of treasure. Consequently, the devil "takes" Walker to hell.
He also claims the story has been muddled by many historians, showing how it has been passed down through many storytellers. He also buys a carriage and two horses, all of which he lets fall into poor condition. The original legend of Faust dates to 16th-century Germany; Christopher Marlowe then dramatized and popularized it in his play "The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus," which was first performed sometime around 1588. His approach to telling his story involves explaining the psychological stages that each prisoner goes through. Through the story, he collects the souls of Absalom Crowninshield, Tom's wife, and Tom himself.
The devil amuses himself by creating absurd divisions between Christians, and also by promoting slavery, the most evil of professions based on greed. Tom Walker agrees to Old Scratch's deal, as he considered his abusive wife's death a good thing. Indulging in vices allows a person to enjoy their life but threatens a horrible afterlife. Is the purpose important or meaningful? Even though his face is only black because of soot, its blackness is cast as unusual and disquieting by relying on readers' conscious or unconscious prejudice against people with dark-colored skin. The most probable story as to her fate holds that when Tom went to search for her in the swamp some days later, he found only her apron bundled into which were a heart and liver, as well as evidence that his wife and Old Scratch had physically fought before the devil bested her. Following this principle, Washington Irving has written many stories about romanticism.
