Use Of Satire In The Devil And Tom Walker

“The Devil and Tom Walker”, perhaps Washington Irving’s most famous work, details a story about a man named Tom Walker and his deal with the Devil. Throughout the story, Irving makes heavy use of satire: the usage of irony or other humors with the intent to mock the vices of humanity. We first see his satirization demonstrated with matrimony, revolving around Tom’s hatred of his own wife to the extent of relishing in her death. Next, he pokes fun at the wealthy white establishment, particularly slave-owners, by portraying them as totally immoral and worse than even the Devil. The final subject of Irving’s satire, and by far his largest one, is the way in which he depicts the Christian community as fueling the Devil’s power, contrary to what they want to believe. The first point of interest regarding this matter is the Devil’s admission to his enjoyment at the persecution of the Quakers and the Anabaptists, two religious groups that the Puritans mercilessly hunted down for their beliefs. The implications of this are that interfaith conflicts are among his countless areas of specialty. Moreover, the Devil declares himself as “the master of the Salem witches” (p. 22). Irving is mocking the Puritans in this case, as the Witch Trials arose through their hysteria.

As he grows older, however, Tom begins to regret this decision. To stave off the Devil’s claim over his life, Tom devotes himself to Christianity. Irving’s satire strikes once more when he takes note of Tom’s obnoxious prayers, remarking that his daunting behavior had shocked even the most disciplined of his clergy. To this end, Irving proclaims that an outsider can tell at which points in time between church sessions he had sinned the most should they listen closely