The Devil and Tom Walker Context and Background
The Devil and Tom Walker is recognizably a product of the romanticism movement, that arose in American literature between1820 and1860. Romanticism is seen to be a reaction against the age of enlightenment and the rapid onset of the industrial revolution. The urban environment left a great deal to be desired, and artists sought to depict nature as the source of truth and beauty. Romanticism differed from the age of enlightenment in more ways than one, as it prioritized imagination over rationality and the individual over the community. Most romantic works are set in distant places and times much like Tom Walker and the devil. This cautionary tale inspired by the German Folk tale of Faust is set between 1727 and the 1740s in the then British colony of Massachusetts. The tale of Faust featured a character named Faust who makes a deal with the devil using his soul. The character in Irving's story is called Old Scratch, a name that was popularly used to refer to the devil in New England at the time.
Irving, like many other romantic writers, condemns slavery as the worst kind of practice, yet several details in the short story reveal a rather racist outlook. The devil is depicted to be black, although the narrator claims that the devil was neither African nor native American, yet this association of black skin with evil reveals a problematic outlook. Additionally, the native Americans are presented as brutal devil worshipers that sacrifice white people in his name.
Irving crafts a masterful didactic tale which is also an exquisitely entertaining read. The story begins with a description of the swamp where Captain Kidd buries his ill-gotten treasure. This swamp becomes a complex symbol in the story as it comes to represent moral corruption and earthly wealth. Tom Walker takes a shortcut through the swamp, which is similar to the shortcuts investors often take to multiply their wealth. Tom Walker is undaunted by the appearance of the devil, as well as the memento mori that he finds there, this is supposed to signify Tom's spiritual blindness. The devil seems to take a liking to Tom and begins to tell him about the treasure that he could offer him. The swamp is established as the property of the devil, and he uses the treasure hidden in the swamp to tempt more souls into damnation. It is also interesting to note that the narrator never explicitly states that Tom Walker trades his soul for earthly riches, almost as if the notion is too horrifying to mention.
