The Devil And Tom Walker Analysis

Highs, lows, greed, regret, betrayal, and adversity: All of which are portrayed through Washington Irving and Henry Longfellow’s writing. Both authors use a series of literary techniques such as allusion and personification but what really makes them stand out is their use of American Romanticism. Irving, a New York City native, had a genius for inventing comic fictional narrators and helped overcome the doubts of America ever having a literary voice. Irving gave America its first international literary celebrity and changed Europe and England’s point of view of American literature. (Before you read,150) While Longfellow wasn’t the first American poet, he was amongst the most popular ones, alongside Robert Frost.(Before you Read,171) Either way both of these men made their literary mark on America while incorporating American Romanticism in their own ways. While Longfellow focused on the theme of Common Man. Irving preferred to write about Imagination and Nature.

In the story’s opening the narrator talks about Tom walking in the wood,where he met the devil. He goes on to explain the scenery in the first paragraph: “On one side of this inlet is a beautiful dark grove; on the opposite side the land rises abruptly from the water’s edge into a high ridge,on which grow a few scattered oaks of great age and immense size”(Irving, 153), this shows the narrator's appreciation for nature as he tries to find beauty in his natural surroundings and bring the non-existent to life. This passage also shows his use of personification as he's giving human qualities to nature. Another quality that was used was imagination, mostly through the character of the Devil. The Devil brings a supernatural element to the story not only through his existence but his appearance as