Beginning in the 16th century in plays and legends, the idea of making a deal with the devil which sacrifice’s a person’s morality became common. This is called a Faustian Tale, and in numerous books and stories they are used to scare people and to inform people to not make deals with the devil. This risky business appears in “The Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving and in The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. The short story is about a man who declines a deal with the devil, but once his wife disappears, he decides to make a deal and exchange his soul for wealth. Eventually, the devil carries him away and he is never to be seen again. “The Devil and Tom Walker” presents many Faustian elements and its moral and display of the tale …show more content…
As the days continued, soulless Tom Walker, began to fear what the devil could do to him. In fact, “He became, therefore, all of a sudden, a violent churchgoer. He prayed loudly and strenuously, as if heaven were to be taken by force of lungs.” Christianity preaches about devils and how a person must repent their sins to go to heaven--not to hell with the devil. By going to church, Tom hopes that the devil will not abuse him and he can continue the rest of his life happily. However, since the devil is evil, he interferes when the person is most cheerful. Once Tom verbally mentions the devil, says “‘Tom, you’re come for,’ said the black fellow, gruffly. Tom shrank back, but too late. He had left his little Bible at the bottom of his coat pocket, and his big Bible on the desk buried under the mortgage he was about to foreclose; never was a sinner taken more unawares. The black man whisked him like a child into the saddle, gave the horse the lash, and away he galloped, with Tom on his back, in the midst of the thunderstorm.” After this, Tom was never to be seen again. By having two bibles on him, Tom tries to ward off the devil, but it is impossible because the devil does not care. This story concludes with the moral that a person should never make a deal with the …show more content…
Washington Irving clearly states what is happening in the story and does not add the information in side notes that get mixed with other information. Irving makes Tom explain who people are to make it clear for the reader especially when Tom meets the devil and says, “‘The upshot of all which is that, if I mistake not,’ said Tom, sturdily, ‘you are he commonly called Old Scratch.’” This allows the reader to fully understand what is happening and piece together what happens in the story. By being straightforward, Irving allows his message to be understood very quickly. Since this is a short story, Irving has to be terse because then it will be too long to read quickly. Irving has limited space to write his story, so he does not have many options. Additionally, Irving keeps most of his distractions deep by using figurative language instead of lengthy descriptions. When Irving was explaining to the reader just how greedy the Walkers are, he says, “He had a wife as miserly as himself: they were so miserly that they even conspired to cheat each other.” This hyperbole forces the reader to think, but it is relatable and quick to comprehend. Since this short story is easier to comprehend, it is very