The Devil and Tom Walker Response

The Devil and Tom Walker is full of strange ideas and interesting characters.  There are many examples throughout the story of this.  One of these characters is the Devil.  His very demon-like, intimidating description would be horrifying to me if I ran into him in the woods.  There is clearly nothing to feel not scared about.  From his unearthly appearance, to the fact that he’s in the middle of nowhere with an axe, there is nothing comforting about him.  Tom Walker is another one of these strange characters.  He lives an interesting life with very interesting relationships, especially with his wife.  I would consider him more than likely a worse person if you compare him to most of the puritans.  There may have been some more evil people of the puritan community but compared to the average one he is a little worse.  An interesting idea is that of the swamp.  The place where the devil lives.  I believe it most likely symbolizes the sin and the greed of Tom Walker.  It is where he gave into all of his selfish wants and desires.  It seems that the narrator in this story recognizes all that is going on and sees what is wrong with it.  He seems to be against it but can not do anything.   I would say that the main purpose of this story is to show what may happen if you give in to your unhealthy and selfish desires.  It shows the corruption and the never ending, never satisfying, pursuit to get more.  This is best displayed through the quote “Such was the end of Tom Walker and his ill gotten wealth. Let all griping money brokers lay this story to heart” (Irving).  I think this story shows a good example of what can happen if you give into the things that you very selfishly want.  It builds this theme strongly through symbolism and displays it well.  I like this story as it is personification of these and gets the message across in a good story line.  There were some areas of the story that were slightly confusing or that I really did not pick up on what was happening.  For the most part, I do think I knew what was happening.  In the real world, this is transferable to not giving in to selfish desires, or be very careful of.  This shows a very strong example of this happening, but its sets a good example of how to be careful and be smart about your actions.

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