Tom Walker is one of the first main characters. He was the protagonist of “The Devil and Tom Walker”. Tom Walker was described as a meager miserly fellow. He was the most despised of all characters. He was the most despised of all characters. Tom Walker was a very cheap man, the story states, “A miserable horse, whose ribs were articulate as the bars of a gridiron, stalked about a field where a thin carpet of moss, scarcely covering the ragged beds of pudding stone tantalized and balked his hunger. He wanted to keep everything to himself. Also, Tom’s is no better than him. Her name was never mentioned, but like her husband, she was miserly nature and had a violent temper. She was tall termagant, fierce of temper loud of tongue and story of arms. They were so miserly that they even conspired to cheat each other. The story indicates, “Whatever the woman could lay hands on she hid away: A hen could not cackle, but she was on the alert to secure the new-laid egg. Finally, there was the old scratch. Old Scratch was another name for the devil. The old Scratch was described as a dark-skinned man. The story states, “These he offered to a place within Tom Walker reach, having conceived an especial kindness for him: but they were to be had only …show more content…
In the “The Devil and Tom Walker,” Irving illustrates human corruption through the use of the woods as setting and symbolism. Tom and his wife showed characteristics of being miserable and greedy. The Old Scratch was the tempter of story. Many tales uses human characteristics to get more feeling out of a story, almost making a real life