The person01–03
01·Who they are
Who is Tom Walker?
Tom Walker is the miserly protagonist of Washington Irving's allegorical short story, depicted as a man living in deliberate, grinding poverty on the outskirts of Boston. Irving establishes his moral baseline early: Tom occupies "a forlorn-looking house that stood alone and had an air of starvation." His poverty stems not from bad luck but from pathological hoarding—he and his wife starve each other out through mutual suspicion, hiding provisions and money in separate corners of the house. Tom is calculating, cold-blooded, and largely devoid of sentiment. Irving portrays him less as a fully rounded human being and more as a personification of colonial-era avarice, serving as an emblem of what unchecked greed does to a soul long before the Devil officially claims it.
02·Arc & motivation
What is Tom Walker's arc and motivation?
Tom's arc shifts from destitution to wealth to hollow piety to damnation, with self-interest driving him at every stage. His first refusal of Old Scratch's bargain does not arise from virtue—he declines "out of the mere spirit of contradiction" to his wife, indicating that spite can temporarily mimic conscience. His eventual acceptance of the deal, particularly the role of usurer charging ruinous interest rates to desperate colonists, aligns perfectly with his character; Irving suggests Old Scratch barely had to sweeten the offer. Tom thrives as a moneylender for decades, showing no compassion for debtors he pushes into ruin. In old age, however, fear—not repentance—guides him toward religion. He carries a Bible, attends church ostentatiously, and prays loudly, yet Irving indicates these are defensive maneuvers rather than genuine transformation, "as if he hoped to cheat the devil as he had cheated mankind." His arc is ultimately circular: he concludes as spiritually bankrupt as he began, and richer in goods he cannot keep.
03·Key moments
What are Tom Walker's key moments?
- The meeting in the swamp: Tom's encounter with Old Scratch among the rotting trees establishes the story's moral geography. The forest itself is corrupt—the great trees are hollow at their cores, each one carved with the name of a prominent colonist. Tom's lack of fear in this place, replaced by curiosity and negotiating instinct, reveals much about his character.
- His wife's disappearance: Instead of grieving or being warned by her gruesome fate—only her heart and liver recovered in an apron—Tom feels "some uneasiness" about the bundle of valuables she carried. Irving's dark comedy highlights the situation: a man who cannot mourn his wife is already more than halfway to damnation.
- Becoming a usurer: Tom's acceptance of Old Scratch's revised offer and his subsequent career foreclosing on land and crushing debtors serves as the story's moral center. Irving depicts him showing "no mercy" to a struggling merchant, illustrating how institutional cruelty can disguise itself as legitimate commerce.
- The reckless oath: When a debtor accuses him of making money dishonestly, Tom snaps, "The devil take me if I have made a farthing!"—and Old Scratch obliges immediately, arriving on a black horse in a whirlwind. The punishment stems from Tom's own words, emphasizing that his destruction is entirely self-authored.
The cast04–05
04·Relationships
What are Tom Walker's most important relationships?
Tom's relationship with his wife serves as the story's first proof that damnation arises as a domestic condition before it becomes supernatural. Their home is structured around conflict—physical fights, hidden food, mutual theft. Her independent attempt to bargain with Old Scratch is, in its twisted manner, the most initiative she displays in the narrative, and Tom's search for her is motivated entirely by a desire to recover her valuables. She foreshadows his fate precisely because she mirrors him.
With Old Scratch, Tom interacts not as a victim but as a counterpart. Their negotiation in the swamp resembles two businessmen haggling, and Tom holds his ground long enough to improve his terms. This dynamic ensures Tom's eventual destruction feels less like victimization and more like a contract reaching its conclusion—Old Scratch is merely the senior partner collecting his share.
Crowninshield acts as a narrative warning that Tom refuses to acknowledge. Observing a great tree about to fall with that sinful merchant's name carved into it should clarify the forest's significance. Tom registers the information without applying it to himself.
05·Connected characters
How is Tom Walker connected to the other characters?
Tom's Wife
Full commentary
Tom and his wife share a relationship defined entirely by mutual hostility and greed. They hide money from each other, physically fight, and feel no affection. Her disappearance while trying to broker her own deal with Old Scratch troubles Tom only insofar as he resents being beaten to the bargain; he searches for her mainly to recover a bundle of valuables she carried. Her fate foreshadows his own but fails to warn him.
Old Scratch (The Devil)
Full commentary
Old Scratch is Tom's tempter, employer, and ultimate destroyer. Their first meeting in the swamp establishes a transactional dynamic: the Devil offers treasure and worldly power; Tom negotiates terms. Tom accepts the role of usurer, enriches himself under the Devil's patronage for decades, and is finally collected when he rashly invokes the Devil's name in a moment of bravado—illustrating that Old Scratch always collects on his contracts.
Captain Kidd
Absalom Crowninshield
The evidence06
06·Key quotes
What are Tom Walker’s most famous quotes?
“The devil take me if I have made a farthing!”
Tom Walker · Tom Walker acting as a usurer/money-lender, speaking to a debtor shortly before the Devil comes to collect him
Why it matters
This exclamation is made by Tom Walker, the miserly main character in Washington Irving's gothic story The Devil and Tom Walker (1824). Tom says it in a moment of bitter irony—he's a money-lender who has become incredibly wealthy through his Faustian deal with the Devil (Old Scratch), yet he mindlessly swears by the Devil to claim that he hasn’t profited, likely while cheating a desperate borrower. The line carries a dark humor: Tom casually invokes the very being to whom he has sold his soul, completely oblivious to the spiritual danger he invites. Thematically, this quote captures Irving's critique of greed and hypocrisy in early American society. Tom's wealth comes from a diabolical source, yet he pretends to be poor to exploit his victims further. The irony peaks when the Devil literally "takes" Tom—he is whisked away on horseback to hell shortly after, fulfilling the oath he made so carelessly. Thus, the quote acts as both foreshadowing and a moral punchline, highlighting Irving's warning that unchecked greed leads to damnation.
“The devil take me if I have made a farthing!”
Tom Walker · Tom Walker working as a usurer/money-lender, speaking to a debtor or accuser; near the story's climax before the Devil's return
Why it matters
This exclamation comes from Tom Walker, the miserly main character in Washington Irving's short story "The Devil and Tom Walker" (1824). Tom uses these words as a habitual oath — a reckless, blasphemous statement he makes whenever someone accuses him of profiting unfairly as a greedy usurer and money-lender. The bitter irony is striking: Tom has certainly earned far more than a farthing — he has become incredibly wealthy thanks to an actual deal with the Devil. His casual mention of the Devil as a guarantor of his honesty is both darkly humorous and thematically significant. Irving uses this moment to highlight Tom's spiritual blindness and moral decay; he is so consumed by greed that he fails to recognize the peril in his own words. When the Devil eventually arrives to claim Tom's soul, it is exactly this kind of oath that seals his doom. Thematically, this quote captures Irving's Faustian warning about how greed can corrupt and the foolishness of making deals with evil — a sharp satire directed at the ruthless capitalism and Puritan hypocrisy that Irving observed in early American society.
Study07–08
07·Questions
Questions readers ask about Tom Walker
Why does Tom Walker initially refuse the Devil's offer?
Tom refuses Old Scratch's first offer not out of moral principle but purely out of spite toward his wife—Irving specifies it is "out of the mere spirit of contradiction." Because his wife desperately wants the deal, Tom declines it simply to deny her the satisfaction. This reveals that even Tom's apparent resistance to evil is self-serving, grounded in petty domestic hostility rather than any genuine virtue.
What is Tom Walker's most famous line?
Tom's most notorious line is "The devil take me if I have made a farthing!"—a reckless oath he blurts when a debtor accuses him of dishonesty. Old Scratch takes him at his word instantly, arriving on a black horse in a whirlwind and carrying Tom away forever. The moment is darkly ironic: Tom's own boastful lie becomes the instrument of his damnation.
How does Tom Walker die or disappear?
Tom is carried off by Old Scratch in a whirlwind, never to be seen again. The moment is triggered by his own rash oath—when he swears "The devil take me if I have made a farthing!"—and the Devil arrives immediately on a black horse to collect. Afterward, his house collapses and his accumulated treasure turns to worthless wood chips, erasing every worldly gain he made.
How does Tom Walker treat his wife?
Tom and his wife share a relationship of pure mutual hostility—they hide food and money from each other, physically fight, and feel no affection whatsoever. When she vanishes after attempting her own bargain with Old Scratch, Tom searches for her mainly to recover the bundle of valuables she carried. Her gruesome fate—only her heart and liver recovered—causes him irritation rather than grief, foreshadowing his own spiritual emptiness.
What is Tom Walker's relationship with Old Scratch like?
Their relationship resembles a business negotiation between two calculating partners far more than a classic tempter-and-victim dynamic. Tom haggles with Old Scratch in the swamp, holds his ground long enough to improve his terms, and accepts the role of usurer as a mutually agreeable arrangement. Irving makes clear that Old Scratch is essentially the senior partner in a long-running contract, and Tom's eventual destruction is simply the debt coming due.
Why does Tom Walker become a moneylender?
Tom accepts the role of usurer because it perfectly matches his existing character—charging ruinous interest rates to desperate colonists requires exactly the cold-blooded greed and absence of compassion he already possesses. Irving implies Old Scratch barely had to sweeten the offer. Tom thrives in the role for decades, showing no mercy even to debtors on the verge of ruin, treating financial exploitation as entirely legitimate commerce.
Does Tom Walker's late-in-life religious devotion save him?
No—Tom's piety is purely performative and cannot save him. In old age he carries a Bible, attends church ostentatiously, and prays loudly, but Irving makes clear these are defensive maneuvers driven by fear of damnation rather than genuine repentance, describing them as an attempt to "cheat the devil as he had cheated mankind." Old Scratch collects him anyway the moment Tom speaks carelessly, proving that hypocritical ritual cannot undo a lifetime of wrongdoing.
What does Crowninshield's fate tell us about Tom Walker's future?
Crowninshield functions as a dark preview of Tom's own end. Tom sees the wealthy but notoriously sinful merchant's name carved on a nearly felled tree in Old Scratch's forest—a clear sign Crowninshield has already been claimed and is about to die. Rather than applying this warning to himself, Tom registers it with curiosity and moves on, illustrating his fatal inability to recognize his own reflection in another corrupt man's destruction.
08·Essay angles
Use this in your essay
Tool · Essay angles
Hypocrisy as self-deception
Greed as a form of self-destruction
Marriage and moral corruption
Allegory and colonial critique
The role of agency in damnation