"The Devil and Tom Walker" Washington Irving

Markeia Scruggs
October 15, 2009
Lit Response

“The Devil and Tom Walker”
“The Devil and Tom Walker” is a story from the American gothic era in literature. In this story, Irving tells a story of Tom Walker’s dealings with the devil. It tells of how he stumbled upon the devil’s treasures and how he and his wife went missing. With a central theme of greed and being set in New England in 1727, Irving creates a scene of dreariness. His work is the exact opposite of Puritan beliefs, and therefore he incorporates hostility towards them within “The Devil and Tom Walker.” Washington Irving uses many literary devices to critique the puritans.
In “The Devil and Tom Walker” the treasure seems to contradict itself. Because it is treasure, it is a wonderful thing that can bring wonderful materialistic things. On the other hand, it’s the devil’s treasure, and it seems to come with some dire consequences. The text states, “Under one of these gigantic trees, according to old stories, there was a great amount of treasure buried by Kidd the pirate…The old stories add, moreover, that the devil presided at the hiding of the money, and took it under his guardianship; but this, it is well known, he always does with buried treasure, particularly when it has been ill gotten.” Even though it’s a great treasure to possess, it brings troubles. For example, “As he scrambled up the tree the vulture spread its wide wings, and sailed off screaming into the deep shadows of the forest. Tom seized the check apron, but woful sight! Found nothing but a heart and liver tied up in it.” Irving writes. This is also an example of how he indirectly criticizes puritans. He openly discusses the gruesomeness of the story. This is a prime example of American Gothicism.
The disappearance of Tom Walker adds to the claim of American Gothicism. The text states, “Tom Walker never returned to foreclose the mortgage. A countryman who lived on the borders of the swamp, reported that in the height of the thunder gust he had heard a great clattering of hoofs and a howling along the road, and that when he ran to the window he just caught sight of a figure, such as I have described, on a horse that galloped like mad across the fields, over the hills and down into the black hemlock swamp towards the old Indian fort; and that shortly after a thunderbolt fell in that direction which seemed to set the whole forest in a blaze.” This intense use of diction combined with vivid imagery makes the story that much more interesting. It adds to the effect of the Gothicism. It also makes the story duller. With that said, it obviously contradicts that whole idea of Puritanism.
It can be concluded that Washington Irving does a great job with supporting the claim of dreary Gothicism. It obviously goes against every aspect of Puritanism. As a story from the American Gothicism era in literature, it successfully fulfills the position.