What does Tom Walker’s house symbolize?
Expert Answers
The Walkers’ house: Their house represents the barrenness in their marriage. Tom and his wife barely tolerate each other; so their desolate house and land illustrate the lack of life in their relationship.
What does Tom Walker’s new house represent in The Devil and Tom Walker?
Tom’s new house is descibed as being showy on the outside, but empty on the inside. The new house symbolizes the idea of false appearances. In the story it states that “He built himself, as usual, a vast house, out of ostentation, but left the greater part of it unfinished and unfurnished, out of parsimony.”
What do the characters in The Devil and Tom Walker represent?
The devil represents moral sin and seeks to corrupt others. In this respect, he uses Tom Walker’s ambition for his own purposes. The devil is described as a “great black man,” because his face is covered in soot and dirt. He wears a red belt, or sash, and carries a large axe upon his back.
Who or what is a symbol for evil in The Devil and Tom Walker?
Although he attempts to stave off the black man by getting religion in his later years, darkness is again used as the symbol of evil in the story’s ending.
What do the devil’s trees in the swamp represent?
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.
What is the house being compared to in The Devil and Tom Walker?
At the beginning of the story, Tom’s house is described as a “forlorn looking house that stood alone and had the look of starvation”. Because of the stinginess and mistrust of both Tom and his wife, the house was as bad inside as it was out.
Who is the black man in The Devil and Tom Walker?
The “black man” is the Devil, although in the context of this story he goes by the name of Old Scratch, or the Black Woodsman.
What bargain does Tom make with the devil?
Tom makes a bargain with the devil to get a pirate’s treasure in exchange for “certain conditions.” Tom Walker does not find it strange when he meets the devil during a walk in the woods. He does not find anything frightening, even if local legends tell him the area is haunted.
Is Tom Walker selfish?
Both Tom Walker and his wife are miserly, greedy, selfish people. The narrator describes the state of the Walker house as being one with little amenities and decoration–Tom and his wife both want to keep their money rather than to spend it on anything extra.