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QR Challenge: The Devil and Tom Walker Analysis

Question	Answer
Describe the devil's trees. What do they symbolize?	The trees of the wooded and swamp area symbolized the land owners, slave drivers, and colonists that have taken the land from the Native Americans. They were all sinners that had made deals with the devil for their own greed and material desires. The trees were branded with their names, and after falling to the ground the devil used them for firewood, symbolizing the devils collection of their souls to hell. The trees, described by Tom, were “fair and flourishing without, but rotten at the core” like that of the societal patriarchs that on the outside appeared to have everything, but on the inside they were evil spirited sinners. The trees fell when the men’s souls were claimed and taken by the devil.
What is the devil's signature?	When Old Scratch put his finger print on Tom’s forehead to prove who he is, Tom was unable to wash the print off, and it appeared as if it was burned into his skin. This was the mark of the devil as he resided in the flames of hell. After putting the fingerprint on Tom’s forehead, the devil gradually disappeared down into the ground, presumably to the depths of hell. The devil was also referred to in many ways as dark, black, dirty looking and he rode upon a black horse. The dark imagery was symbolic of the darkness of evil, hell, and sin.
What does the devil want Tom to do for the money? Why won’t he do it? What does he finally agree to do?	He asked Tom to be a slave trader and he refused. Instead he because a usurer. He lends people money, causes them to declare bankruptcy, and forecloses on their mortgages.
Look at “The Devil and Tom Walker” as an allegory – (for the American economic system?)What might each of these represent? Old Scratch, Murky woods, Trees, Tom Walker, Tom’s short cut through the woods?	Many folktales are allegories. In an allegory, characters and actions are symbolic of larger conditions of human nature. In “The Devil and Tom Walker,” the character of Old Scratch personifies evil or temptation. The murky woods full of quagmires in which Tom meets the devil are symbolic of his conscience, which, clouded by his greed, falls easily to the devil’s temptation. Tom Walker, an unscrupulous moneylender, makes a pact with the devil and only later professes religious beliefs. Through these actions, Tom represents religious hypocrisy, which Irving shows will be punished.
Dramatic irony is a literary device whereby a character inadvertently speaks the truth, foreshadowing tragic events of which he is unaware. Find the sentence in the conclusion of the tale where Tom makes this kind of ironic statement.	"The Devil take me..."