The Devil and Tom Walker Themes
Greed
The Devil and Tom Walker is a morally instructional story that aims to communicate the deplorability of greediness. The story features several greedy men who make a profit at the cost of others and convinces the reader that these men are doomed to burn in the fires of hell for their crimes. The initial presentation of Tom Walker's situation communicates the frequent inefficiency of greed. Tom and his wife are severely miserly yet they aren't able to live comfortably even within their means. Tom's relationship with his wife is less meaningful than the property she takes with herself when she heads out to deal with the devil.
Tom Walker succeeds in securing wealth after the loss of his wife, but he doesn't truly profit from the greed. Tom spends a short time enjoying his wealth, but he soon begins to worry about the fate of his soul. He takes to religion with a violent fanaticism and even recommends the persecution of Quakers, and Anabaptists, perhaps forgetting that these were a favorite of Old Scratch. Upon his death, the people of Boston find that wood shaving and scraps instead of gold and currency notes signifying the fact that he had never truly earned anything.
Usury
This short story can be thought of as being aimed at the industry of money lenders, and pawnbrokers, who profited off the forced necessity of less fortunate individuals. The modern financial systems are derived from the principle of lending money at an interest rate, but this practice was considered to be sinful and unchristian around the 18th century. Irving presents Usury as a form of institutionalized greed that facilitated the exploitation of needy people but is yet considered to be a respectable means of living. Irving argues that the business of usury encouraged greed since the clientele of desperate people rarely had the liberty to negotiate the terms of lending.
There is greater usury involved in the story over and above that of Tom Walker's counting-house and that is the usury of the devil. He tempts Tom with the offer of earthly wealth, dictates the terms of its usage, and expects payment in the form of Tom's immortal soul. The overall conclusion of the story can be identified as the lesson that all greedy sinners pay for their sins with their souls.
Wealth and Religion
Irving creates a humorous tale about a man's dealing with the devil, and it begins with Tom's meeting with the devil. In this meeting, the Devil shows Tom imposing and handsome trees that are sound only in their external appearance but have become rotten from within. These trees represent the lives of powerful men, and Tom is surprised to note that nearly all of the powerful men from the colony are marked on some tree or the other. Irving implies that the path to success seems to be riddled with sin and that these individuals unknowingly choose to exercise their greed in this world only to be eternally damned in the afterlife.
It is also interesting to note that most wealthy men seem to occupy an important place in religious communities. This is exemplified through the characters of Deacon Peabody, Abasolm Crowninshield, as well as Tom Walker himself. Tom turns to religion when he has enjoyed the fruits of the treasure, but his thoughts have begun to turn towards the fate of his soul. Tom vehemently practices the religion of Christianity but only for the sake of outward appearance as indicated by the bible on his desk that is buried under books of the mortgages that he is closing. Tom's inward attitude towards religion never changes as he seems incapable of understanding the spirit of Christianity. He still thinks of sin as credits and debits that he can manipulate to secure for himself a place in heaven. Tom indicates this spiritual blindness repeatedly along with the other morally corrupt characters in the story like his wife, and Deacon Peabody.
