Examples Of Satire In The Devil And Tom Walker

Satire is used by many famous writers to create humor and to criticize people’s unwise, and senseless actions. As George Orwell once said, "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." (Orwell, 1945). People will always be greedy and think they are smarter than others but this is untrue. The one who thinks he is smarter or better than the other will always end up losing in life. In the short story “The Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving, satire is incorporated in a perfect way. This story is about Tom Walker, who makes a pact with the devil, and ends up lending money at high interest rates. When Tom Walker thinks he is smarter than his customers and does not give more time to one of his customers to pay him back, Tom’s life ends in an instant. Through the use of satire Irving criticizes the institution of marriage and the folly of human nature.

Irving criticizes the institution of marriage in many ways throughout the story. He introduces Tom to the story by pointing out the following: “He had a wife as miserly as himself; they were so miserly that they even conspired to cheat each other.” In this quote Irving substantiates that marriage will lead one to temptation, and that many people that think are happy with their partner will always look for other partners during marriage. Another example of Irving’s use of satire to criticize marriage is when he writes, “Whatever the woman could lay hands on she hid away: a hen could not crackle but she