In Washington Irving's short story "The Devil and Tom Walker", the author depicts the main character
as a very stereotypical character with little individuality. Tom's actions are easily predicted an
d his eventual downfall is used to illustrate the story's moral.
Tom Walker is a very typical one-d
imensional character. He is purely evil with not a bit of goodness. From the very beginning of the
story, the reader is shown that he is a lying, cheating, conniving miser who cares for no one (not
even his own wife) but himself. He does his best to cheat his wife out of money and things that sho
uld be common property in a marriage. When his wife disappears (presumably she has been killed by t
he Devil), he is not concerned in the least for her well-being. Instead he joyfully snatches her ap
ron down from a tree, supposing it to contain the household valuables. When Tom opens the apron and
finds a heart and liver, he is not horrified as most people would be if they discovered that their
spouse had been slain; rather, he is saddened that his property is lost and overjoyed that the Devil
has done him the favor of getting rid of his wife. Only the most purely evil person would feel thi
s way.
Tom Walker's actions are predictable because he's a simple-minded greedy man. He's very one
-dimensional; he represents the greed that inherent to human nature, but he is totally consumed by i
t. The reader can assume that because Tom is so greedy, he will eventually sell his soul to the Dev
il in exchange for riches--and so he does. Also, because this type of story (man meets devil, man s
ells his soul to devil, man suffers dire consequences in the end) is quite typical, it is easy to pr
edict the ending of the story (it seems that the Devil takes Tom to hell).
The moral of "The Devil
and Tom Walker" is that greedy people will suffer in the end. Tom makes a deal with the Devil--his
soul in return for wealth. In the end his riches become worthless and his property is burned to the
ground. A black horse whisks Tom away to his death, and he presumably goes to Hell, since his soul
now belongs to the Devil. Tom has paid the ultimate price for his greed--eternal suffering.
Washi
ngton Irving uses his predictable and stereotypical character Tom Walker to illustrate the moral of
"The Devil and Tom Walker". The moral is that greedy people will suffer in the end. In return for
his miserly life and his deal with the Devil, Tom is dealt the worst fate imaginable--death and unre
mitting torment in Hell.
washington irving short story devil walker author depicts main character
very stereotypical character with little individuality actions easily predicted eventual downfall us
ed illustrate story moral walker very typical dimensional character purely evil with goodness from v
ery beginning story reader shown that lying cheating conniving miser cares even wife himself does be
st cheat wife money things that should common property marriage when wife disappears presumably been
killed devil concerned least well being instead joyfully snatches apron down from tree supposing co
ntain household valuables when opens apron finds heart liver horrified most people would they discov
ered that their spouse been slain rather saddened property lost overjoyed devil done favor getting o
nly most purely evil person would feel this walker actions predictable because simple minded greedy
dimensional represents greed inherent human nature totally consumed reader assume because greedy wil
l eventually sell soul exchange riches does also because this type meets sells soul suffers dire con
sequences quite typical easy predict ending seems takes hell moral greedy people will suffer makes d
eal with soul return wealth riches become worthless property burned ground black horse whisks away d
eath presumably goes hell since belongs paid ultimate price greed eternal suffering washington irvin
g uses predictable stereotypical illustrate moral people will suffer return miserly life deal dealt
worst fate imaginable death unremitting torment hellEssay, essays, termpaper, term paper, termpapers
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