The Devil And Tom Walker Research Paper

The Devil and Tom Walker is a short story written in the Gothic period of American Literature. In the story, Tom Walker makes a deal with the devil that comes with a heavy price. The deal is that if Tom sells his soul to the Devil, then the Devil will in turn make Tom rich. Throughout the story there is rich imagery and creative writing styles that show a direct correlation to the Gothic Period.
The main character, Tom Walker, is a perfect representation of the Gothic Period. Tom was a withered old man who had to put up with a bickering wife, and would love nothing more than to just ditch her and become rich. This shows a connection to the time period, because it sets Tom up as a “dark and grim” character, just like many characters from Edger Allen Poe’s works, another Gothic writer. In addition, Tom is very superstitious just like many people were during that time frame.
The theme is another accurate representation of this time period. One could say that the theme of The Devil and Tom Walker is to not be selfish, and money is the root of all evil. During the Gothic period, many people where hard pressed to make an honest living. This meant that the

In this story, the Devil lives in an old forest and wears very dark clothing. When the devil kills Tom Walkers wife, it is very gory and contains very grim details. In the end of the story, the Devil rides in on a midnight black horse, only to whisk Tom away to his impending doom. This represents the Gothic period very well. Many people viewed the forest as a place of evil and superstition. They also attributed dark colors such as red, purple, or black as evil, which are very common colors during the Gothic period. One story that uses these colors and imagery very well during this period is The Raven. The Devil and Tom Walker also uses informal dictation throughout the majority of the story, but when the Devil talks, the story switches to more formal