The Devil and Tom Walker by Washington Irving

“The Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving, a folk tale, that appeared in his collection, Tales and Travelers, which came out in 1824. The author most famous for his short stories like “Rip Van Wrinkle" and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", both of which appear in his book The Sketchbook. Most of his work, formerly taken from European ideas and literature. Washington Irving takes other versions of the devil and portrays them as an American version by the reputation, the appearance, and the location.

The reputation of the devil was demonstrated as an Americanized lucifer throughout the whole short story. When Tom first meets the devil, he had just chopped down the tree of Deacon Peabody. Later, when Tom went home to see his wife, she gave him the news that Deacon Peabody passed away, emphasizing the devils harsh, nasty and cruel reputation. Woodsmen, portrayed throughout the story, commonly shows up in America because at the time of the story most people lived in the colonies, and most of the land out west at that time in the story can be seen as green lush forest. Also, statin mentions the great patron and prompter of slave dealers which he contributed to. This relates to his reputation because in colonies at this time it was very popular to have slaves and make them do work for you. Another example, when the leader of hell said he contributed to the grandmaster of sales which trails, which was a huge issue in Boston, and people killed many women who thought to have witch powers. The devils reputation of killing Deacon Peabody, the slave trade, and sales witch trials are all examples of how Washington Irving created an Americanized devil.

The devil in the short story has multiple Americanized traits or appearances. When Tom first met the leader of hell, he had an ax on his back and was very dirty. Tom identified the man as neither black nor Indian, yet he was dressed in a rude half Indian garb. The man had a red belt or sash swathed round his body, and his face neither black nor copper yet dingy. The description that the white man gave portrays the devil as a dirty Indian or colonist. Most people in Europe did not have Native Americans. Giving the lucifer traits of Indians puts a different concept of the leader of hell. That's why Washington Irving said that he had coarse black hair, that stood out from his head in all directions and bore ax on his shoulder. The author gives him those specific appliances because it illustrates a colonize version of the old scratch. Another way the writer demonstrates an American vision of the Satin emphasized