The Devil And Tom Walker Greed Essay

The short story The Devil and Tom Walker by ____ is filled full of sin and comedic characters who are used to give insight into the Dark Romantic view of the world. _____The author,( put in author’s name) uses the characteristic dark and sinister settings of Dark Romanticism and the toxic relationship between the main character, Tom, his wife and money, to illustrate the moral harm of greed and how it ends up corrupting and ruining the lives of the greedy themselves.
Tom, the main character in this short story, is never really described to be happy, neither is his wife. Their introduction is a very short and seemingly simple one, Tom is described as a “meagre miserly fellow”, and his wife described to be just as “miserly”(2) as he. Meagre

Tom and his wife are so “miserly” that they feel like they are lacking something at all times, they “conspired to cheat each other” out of things people would consider “common property”(2). This illustrates a very greedy and unhappy marriage, as their actions, fueled by greed and selfishness, interfere with their ability to live happily. The only times Tom ever seems to be happy is when money is involved, and even then its not complete happiness. The first time he experienced happiness came after his wife disappeared into the swamp when in search for the devil, whom Tom had met the previous afternoon. Tom went out looking for her, as he was worried for her safety, “especially [when] he found she had carried off in her apron the silver...and every portable article of value”(8). As he travelled through the swamp he came across a “bundle tied in a checkered apron” and “leapt for joy, for he recognized his wife's apron, and supposed it to contain the household valuables”(9). Tom then said to himself, “[let] us get a hold of the

Tom built himself a “vast house” which he kept “a greater part of it unfinished and unfurnished out of parsimony”. The word “vast” gives the house a very large but empty feel as does the fact that Tom never finished or fully furnish it. His penny-pinching ways outweighs the need for a home as he never finishes it out of “parsimony”, the unwillingness to spend money. The house never gives the feel of a home, which is supported by the statement that Tom only built his house “out of ostentation”, meaning it has no other purpose than to show off his wealth. A home is supposed to be a pace where people live their lives and make happy memories, but Tom never does that, his sole focus is to make more and more money, and to hoard what he has. Another similarity to his previous life was the horses he kept. Tom set up a “carriage in the fullness of his vain glory” and “nearly starved the horses which drew it”(13). Tom makes a show of his wealth by having a carriage and horses carry him around, but Tom’s habit of being scroogelike takes over when he doesn't feed his horses. Tom obviously has enough money to feed them properly, as he had enough to buy several horses and to have a carriage and a huge house built, but he doesn't spend the money to feed them. The author shows us once again how Tom values money over other