The Devil and Tom Walker (Paragraph)

Sadie Ries
Period 6
10-2-07
The Devil and Tom Walker
Washington Irving, in “The Devil and Tom Walker“, uses the light hearted tone of the story to influence the characters by not allowing the reader to have much sympathy for them. For example, Tom, when think back on the Devil‘s actions, say that “He even felt something like gratitude towards the black woodsman, who, he considered, had done him kindness” (242). This shows that there should be sympathy for Tom Walker because his wife was a cruel and mean women, but instead there is a lack of sympathy because the story does not give off the tone that there should be sympathy to Tom. This also shows that we should again have sympathy to Tom that he would feel gratitude towards the devil in the first place, because thanking the devil seems like a unhealthy thing to do; but the bleak tone does not portray enough emotion for the reader to feel sympathy. In addition, after Tom denies the land jobber his request for more time, the Devil takes Tom Walker away “Dashing down the streets, his white cap bobbing up and down, his morning gown fluttering in the wind, and his steed striking fire out of the pavement at every bound” (244). This shows that Tom Walker has been whisked away by the Devil, and usually no matter what circumstance the reader would tend to feel some sort of sorrow and sympathy for Tom. Instead, the stories tone, in lack of a sorrowful emotion, causes there to be a lack of sympathy towards Tom Walker and this unfortunate event. In conclusion, Washington Irving does not allow the reader to feel it necessary to portray any sympathetic emotion towards Tom Walker, due to the bleak, emotionless tone in “The Devil and Tom Walker”.