Objectives

• Analyse how Irving uses the Gothic swamp setting in the opening pages to establish a moral landscape of corruption and decay.
• Identify and explain the function of Old Scratch as a symbolic figure whose bargain with Tom critiques greed and the pursuit of wealth.
• Trace how Irving's ironic narrative voice shapes the reader's attitude toward Tom Walker and his wife throughout the complete story.
• Analyse how Tom's late-life religious hypocrisy in the story's final movement satirises the American Dream's promise of self-reinvention.
• Write an evidenced analytical paragraph that makes a clear argument about Irving's use of language or structure, supported by at least two embedded quotations from the text.

The sequence

1. Lesson 1: The Swamp, the Skull, and the Bargain: Close Reading Irving's Moral World

   55 min · ch. 1

   Do now

   On the board: Read the opening two paragraphs of the story, starting with 'A few miles from Boston' and ending with 'the common people had a bad opinion of it.' Identify three specific details that Irving describes about the swamp. For each detail, provide one word that captures the emotion it evokes. Please do not discuss this with anyone just yet.

   Teacher input

   Model a close reading of the passage starting with "One evening that Tom Walker had strayed from home" and ending with Old Scratch's first words, "What are you doing on my grounds?" Help students explore how Irving's word choices — "great black man," "grizzled hair," and "axe on his shoulder" — depict Old Scratch both as a laborer and a demonic figure. This blurs the lines between capitalism and the devil. Use the visualizer to annotate: what does the axe symbolize? Why choose "grizzled" instead of "black"? Show how each detail connects to broader themes.

   Independent task

   Students will re-read the excerpt from "He now, therefore, determined to become a money-broker" through to the end of the paragraph that discusses Tom's usury, where Irving notes that Tom "had a dash of the lawyer in him." They will create a structured annotation of this passage, identifying two specific words or phrases that Irving employs to characterize Tom's money-lending practices. For each word or phrase, students will explain what it reveals about Tom's character or values. Finally, they will compose a single sentence that links their observations to the story's critique of greed. The completed annotation should be submitted on a half-sheet at the end of the lesson.

   Exit ticket

   Write one sentence explaining why Irving chooses to have Old Scratch appear as a woodsman carrying an axe rather than as a conventional horned devil — what does this specific image add to the story's argument about wealth and labour?

2. Lesson 2: Bible in One Hand, Mortgage in the Other: Writing About Irving's Satire of the American Dream

   55 min · ch. 1

   Do now

   On the board: Without looking at the text, jot down two surprising or contradictory actions that Tom takes after he becomes a money-broker. Then, write a sentence that starts with: 'Irving makes Tom hypocritical because…' You have four minutes.

   Teacher input

   Model the construction of an analytical paragraph focusing on the section where Tom experiences his religious conversion, starting from 'As Tom waxed old…he thought with regret on the bargain he had made' and concluding with 'and was as rigid in religious as in money matters.' Begin by presenting a clear argument, such as: 'Irving uses Tom's performative piety to reveal the empty promise of American self-reinvention.' Next, embed a quotation effectively; for instance, the phrase 'rigid in religious as in money matters' links the two aspects of Tom's character seamlessly. Then, delve into an analysis of the word 'rigid,' exploring its implications of inflexibility, the association with death, and the notion of rigor mortis. Finally, connect this analysis back to the overarching satirical theme of the story, ensuring the paragraph concludes with a broader thematic reflection instead of introducing a new quotation.

   Independent task

   Irving employs Tom Walker's religious hypocrisy in the final section of the story to sharply critique the American Dream, revealing how the pursuit of wealth often corrupts moral integrity. Tom is depicted as "rigid in religious as in money matters," suggesting that his piety is as inflexible as his greed. The word "rigid" implies a lack of genuine faith, highlighting his performative devotion rather than true belief, which illustrates the hollowness of his character. Furthermore, when Tom is described as "loud and vociferous" in his prayers, it underscores his tendency to use religion as a tool for self-promotion rather than as a means of spiritual reflection. The repetition of "sin upon sin, cheat upon cheat" emphasizes his continuous moral downfall, painting a vivid picture of a man who, despite his outward displays of religiosity, remains deeply entrenched in dishonesty and greed. Ultimately, Tom's fate—being carried off by Old Scratch on horseback—serves as a powerful reminder of the consequences of his choices. This ending reinforces the story's moral argument that the American Dream, when pursued without integrity, leads not to success but to ruin and despair.

   Exit ticket

   In two sentences, explain what Irving suggests happens to people who pursue wealth without moral integrity, using the specific detail of Tom being carried off 'in the midst of a thunderstorm' as your evidence. Do not simply retell the plot — make an argument.

Activities

Assessment

• Do-Now (Lesson 1): checks whether students can identify Gothic atmosphere in the swamp description before any teaching has occurred.
• Annotated half-sheet (Lesson 1 independent task): checks whether students can move from word-level observation about Tom's usury to a thematic claim without prompting.
• Exit ticket (Lesson 1): checks whether students have absorbed the modelled move — reading a single image (the axe) as ideologically loaded rather than merely decorative.
• Do-Now (Lesson 2): checks whether students have retained the contradiction between Tom's greed and his religiosity from Lesson 1 reading.
• Exit ticket (Lesson 2): checks whether students can make an argument about Irving's moral vision using a specific textual detail rather than retelling plot.

Standards covered

Common Core 11 12

• RL.11-12.1 — Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
• RL.11-12.4 — Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyse the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone.
• RL.11-12.6 — Analyse a case in which grasping a point of view or cultural experience requires distinguishing what is directly stated from what is really meant (e.g. satire, irony, understatement).

AP Literature

• Literary Argumentation (LAN-1): Develop a thesis that makes a defensible claim about how Irving's language and structure create meaning.
• Textual Evidence (STL-1): Select and cite relevant evidence from 'The Devil and Tom Walker' to support literary analysis.
• Figurative Language (FIG-1): Analyse the role of figurative language — including symbolic imagery (the swamp, the axe, the skull) and irony — in conveying Irving's satirical argument.
• Narration (NAR-1): Explain how Irving's ironic third-person narrator shapes the reader's attitude toward Tom Walker and the American Dream.

AQA

• AO1 — Read, understand and respond to texts; maintain a critical style and develop an informed personal response, using textual references including quotations to support and illustrate interpretations.
• AO2 — Analyse the language, form and structure used by Irving to create meanings and effects, using relevant subject terminology.
• AO3 — Show understanding of the relationships between 'The Devil and Tom Walker' and its contexts, including the early American Romantic period, Puritan legacy, and the emerging capitalist culture Irving satirises.

Edexcel

• AO1 — Articulate informed, personal and creative responses to literary texts, using associated concepts and terminology, and coherent, accurate written expression.
• AO2 — Analyse ways in which meanings are shaped in 'The Devil and Tom Walker', including Irving's use of Gothic imagery, ironic narration, and allegorical characterisation.
• AO5 — Demonstrate understanding of the significance and influence of the contexts in which 'The Devil and Tom Walker' was written and received, including Jacksonian-era anxieties about wealth and moral decline.