Washington Irving’s short story ‘The Devil and Tom Walker’ uses
satire to critique both people and ideas
. Satire uses humor, irony, or exaggeration as a way to highlight problems with people, institutions, or social ideologies so that those problems can be addressed and improved upon.
What offer does the devil give Tom Walker?
What does the Devil offer Tom Walker? He offers
to make Tom Walker rich by giving him the pirate’s treasure.
What is the thesis of The Devil and Tom Walker?
Thesis: In “The Devil and Tom Walker,” Irving
illustrates human corruption through the use of the woods as setting and symbolism
. S1: The swampy, gloomy forest mirrors our the fact that our base human desires often lurk in our subconscious, waiting to overwhelm us.
What is the main point of The Devil and Tom Walker?
The main themes in “The Devil and Tom Walker” are
greed, corruption, and misery
. Greed: Tom’s greed is his downfall, and his repentance at the end of the story does not change his fate. Corruption: As soon as Tom accepts Old Scratch’s deal, he spends the rest of his life miserable and alone, corrupted by his greed.
Is Tom Walker greedy?
Tom and his wife love nothing so much as riches, not even themselves; both would rather sell their souls to Old Scratch—the devil—and burn in everlasting hellfire, than miss out on an opportunity to profit. In a revealing irony, Tom and his
wife are so greedy that they
can’t bear to spend the riches they have.
How is Tom Walker selfish?
At the end of the story, Tom exhibits
his selfishness by agreeing to cheat honest workers out of their money through outrageous interest rates on his loans
; even when the devil comes calling, Tom tries to hide the profits from him. So both Tom and his wife only want riches at all costs for themselves.
What bargain does Tom make with the devil?
Tom makes a bargain with the devil
to get a pirate’s treasure in exchange for “certain conditions
.” Tom Walker does not find it strange when he meets the devil during a walk in the woods. He does not find anything frightening, even if local legends tell him the area is haunted.
What do the devil’s trees in the swamp represent?
Describe the devil’s trees. What do they symbolize? The trees of the wooded and swamp area symbolized
the land owners, slave drivers, and colonists that have taken the land from the Native Americans
. They were all sinners that had made deals with the devil for their own greed and material desires.
Did Tom Walker deserve his fate?
Tom Walker does deserve his fate in
“The Devil and Tom Walker
.” He knew exactly what he was getting himself into when he made the deal with the devil that would make him rich. In addition, he is an unkind, miserly man who preys on the weakness and misfortune of others.
Why is Tom Walker miserable?
Revealed by Irving when he introduced the setting, Tom Walker
lived a miserable life isolated with his untrustworthy wife due to his miserly personality
, and by this Irving was showing that living a life of greed will ultimately lead to misery.
What are two themes in The Devil and Tom Walker?
- Greed. …
- Usury. …
- Wealth, Religion, and Hypocrisy. …
- Storytelling as Moral Instruction.
What’s the theme of the devil?
Greed
is the central theme of “The Devil and Tom Walker.” It is greed that killed Kidd the pirate—for stealing things that did not belong to him—as well as Tom’s wife and even Tom Walker. Tom’s wife is willing to sacrifice anything to take the devil’s offer of riches.
What does the devil symbolize in The Devil and Tom Walker?
The Devil =
evil, temptation, and the road to hell
. The Swamp = the shorcut full of “pits and quagmires,” in other words this is a trap. Trees=look good on the outside, but rotten at the core. Chopped wood=ready to be burned.
Is Tom Walker frightened when he first sees the devil?
Is Tom frightened when he first sees the devil? When Tom Walker comes upon
the Devil, Tom is not at all shaken
. He is not afraid in the slightest, in part because his wife is such a difficult woman that he is used to this kind of abuse.
How does Tom Walker show hypocrisy?
Expert Answers
The most significant way in which Tom displays hypocrisy is
through religion
. Tom has cut a deal with the Devil (here named Old Scratch ) to trade his soul for a buried pirate treasure.
Who is the black man in the Devil and Tom Walker?
The “black man” is the Devil, although in the context of this story he goes by the name of
Old Scratch
, or the Black Woodsman.
