The Devil And Tom Walker Character Analysis Essay
Tom Walker Character Analysis In “The Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving, Tom is offered a deal to sell his soul and cheat people for money from the devil. Irving described Tom Walker as a very greedy, hypocritical, and conceited character. In the beginning of the story Tom is introduced as a “meager miserly fellow”, which means a person who is very frugal and does not let go of their money willingly. Irving states, “A miserable horse, whose ribs were as articulate as the bars of gridiron…tantalized and balked his hunger.” This shows that he did not spend nearly enough money on his horse because he was a “miserly fellow” with enough money to feed his horse. The author also told the reader that Tom and his wife would cheat each
other because they were so distant from each other and greedy. Also, Tom ended up cheating other people as well as trying to give off a “religious” and good man to all. Tom Walker on top of full greed was also being two faced or a hypocrite to his customers. For example, the devil said, “You are the usurer for my money!” which meant that the devil wanted Tom to tell people what his price was but in reality he was charging them too much. He is also described to have always had carried around a small bible in his coat pocket which led other people to believe that he was a good Christian man, at least on the outside. But in reality, he was not because cheating people and making deals with the devil are not a service of God nor a way to show being thoughtful of others. Conceited people are selfish and only work for their own advantages. After Tom Walker had not seen his wife for days, he had assumed that she left him and took his booty, treasure. He did not even think about her death but only that his treasure got taken. This was as act of selfishness because all he thought about was keeping the money for him. Throughout the whole story Tom went through some rough times, yet he deserved them. Because he was a greedy, hypocritical, conceited man, the devil came back and damned him to hell. The reader can come to this conclusion because a countryman saw his riding off on a black horse to the site where Tom had first met the devil. Nobody saw him again.
other because they were so distant from each other and greedy. Also, Tom ended up cheating other people as well as trying to give off a “religious” and good man to all. Tom Walker on top of full greed was also being two faced or a hypocrite to his customers. For example, the devil said, “You are the usurer for my money!” which meant that the devil wanted Tom to tell people what his price was but in reality he was charging them too much. He is also described to have always had carried around a small bible in his coat pocket which led other people to believe that he was a good Christian man, at least on the outside. But in reality, he was not because cheating people and making deals with the devil are not a service of God nor a way to show being thoughtful of others. Conceited people are selfish and only work for their own advantages. After Tom Walker had not seen his wife for days, he had assumed that she left him and took his booty, treasure. He did not even think about her death but only that his treasure got taken. This was as act of selfishness because all he thought about was keeping the money for him. Throughout the whole story Tom went through some rough times, yet he deserved them. Because he was a greedy, hypocritical, conceited man, the devil came back and damned him to hell. The reader can come to this conclusion because a countryman saw his riding off on a black horse to the site where Tom had first met the devil. Nobody saw him again.