The Devil and Tom Walker

Washington Irving wrote the Devil and Tom Walker in 1824. Irving created fictitious, stereotypical, one-dimensional characters, and put them in unrealistic situations. During this same time period the slave trade was still highly profitable in the United States. This story can be read on two levels. The first could be as a folk tale. It tells an interesting story of a man who chooses to sell his soul to the devil for riches and what happens. …

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