The Devil and Tom Walker Summary and Study Guide

'The Devil and Tom Walker' Summary and Study Guide Washington Irving, one of early Americas greatest storytellers, was the author of such beloved works as Rip van Winkle (1819) and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1820). Another of his short stories, The Devil and Tom Walker, is not as well known, but it is definitely worth seeking out. The Devil and Tom Walker was first published in 1824 among a collection of short stories called Tales of a Traveller, which Irving wrote as Geoffrey Crayon, one of his pseudonyms.  The Devil and Tom Walker appropriately appeared in a section called Money-Diggers, as the tale chronicles the selfish choices of an exceptionally stingy and greedy man. Historical Context Irvings piece is a relatively early entry into the many literary works considered Faustian tales - stories depicting greed, a thirst for instant gratification, and, ultimately, a deal with the devil as the means to such selfish ends. The legend of  Faust  dates to 16th-century Germany, with Christopher Marlowe dramatizing the legend in his play The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, first performed sometime around 1588.  Faustian tales have been a hallmark of Western culture ever since, the major theme of plays, poems,  operas, classical music, and even film and television productions. It is perhaps unsurprising that, given its dark subject, The Devil and Tom Walker sparked a fair amount of controversy, particularly among the religious population. Still, many consider it one of Irvings finest stories and an exemplary piece of narrative writing. In fact, Irvings piece triggered a rebirth of sorts for the Faustian tale. It is widely reported to have inspired  Stephen Vincent Benets The Devil and Daniel Webster, which appeared in The Saturday Evening Post in 1936 - more than a century after Irvings story came out. Plot Summary The book opens with the tale of how  Captain Kidd, a pirate, buried some treasure in a swamp just outside Boston. It then jumps to the year 1727, when New Englander Tom Walker happened to find himself walking through this swamp. Walker, explains the narrator, was just the kind of man to jump at the prospect of a buried treasure, as he, along with his wife, were selfish to the point of destruction. While walking through the swamp,  Walker comes upon the devil, a great black man carrying an ax, whom Irving calls Old Scratch. The devil in disguise  tells Walker about the treasure, saying that he controls it but will give it to Tom for a price. Walker agrees readily, without really considering what he is expected to pay in return - his soul. The rest of the tale follows the twists and turns one might expect as a result of greed-driven decisions and deal-making with the devil. Main Characters Tom Walker, the protagonist of the story,  is described as a meager miserly fellow and is probably Irvings most despised (or least likable) character. Despite his many unsavory characteristics, he is also memorable.  Initially, Walker rejects Old Scratchs offer, but he eventually gives in to the devils conditions. Walker has been compared to Faust/Faustus, a character who has appeared in countless works through literary history, from Marlowe, Goethe, and beyond. Walkers wife is such a minor character that her name is never given, but she can be likened to her husband in her miserly nature and volatile temper, as Irving describes: Toms wife was a tall termagant, fierce of temper, loud of tongue, and strong of arm. Her voice was often heard in wordy warfare with her husband, and his face sometimes showed signs that their conflicts were not confined to words. Old Scratch  is another name for the devil. Old Scratch is described as a dark-skinned man. Washington Irving wrote, It is true, he was dressed in a rude, half Indian garb, and had a red belt or sash swathed round his body, but his face was neither black nor copper color, but swarthy and dingy and begrimed with soot, as if he had been accustomed to toil among fires and forges. The actions of Old Scratch are similar to other tales where he is the tempter, who offers the protagonist riches or other gains in exchange for the characters soul. Major Events and Setting The Devil and Tom Walker may be a short story but quite a bit takes place in its few pages. The events - and the locations where they take place - really drive the overarching theme of the story: avarice and its consequences. The events of the story can be divided into two locations: Old Indian Fort Tom Walker meets Old Scratch: Tom takes a shortcut through tangled, dark, and dingy swamplands, which are so dark and uninviting that they represent hell in the story. Tom meets the devil, Old Scratch, at an abandoned Indian fort hidden away in the swamplands.Old Scratch offers Tom Walker great sums of money in exchange for certain conditions. The conditions are, of course, that Walker gives his soul in his deal with the devil.The devil offers Tom riches hidden by Captain  Kidd if Tom agrees to sell his soul to Old Scratch. Tom agrees.Toms wife confronts Old Scratch. She goes into the swamplands, twice, hoping that Old Scratch would make a deal with her instead of her husband. Toms wife absconds with all of the couples valuables for the second meeting, but she disappears into the swamplands and is never heard from again. Boston Bolstered by the ill-gotten riches offered by Old Scratch, Walker opens a brokers office in Boston. Walker lends money freely, but he is merciless in his dealings and ruins the lives of many borrowers, often repossessing their property.A ruined speculator asks for a debt he owes to Tom to be forgiven. Walker refuses, but the devil rides in on a horse, easily sweeps Tom up, and gallops away - and Tom is never seen again. After that, all the deeds and notes in Walkers safe turn to ash, and his house mysteriously burns down. Key Quotes The legend of a man who sold his soul to the devil and its devious consequences has been retold many times, but Irvings original words truly reveal the story. Setting the scene: About the year 1727, just at the time when earthquakes were prevalent in New England and shook many tall sinners down upon their knees, there lived near this place a meager miserly fellow of the name of Tom Walker. Describing the protagonist: Tom was a hard-minded fellow, not easily daunted, and he had lived so long with a termagant wife, that he did not even fear the devil. Describing the protagonist and his wife: ...they were so miserly that they even conspired to cheat each other. Whatever the woman could lay hands on she hid away: a hen could not cackle but she was on the alert to secure the new-laid egg. Her husband was continually prying about to detect her secret hoards, and many and fierce were the conflicts that took place about what ought to have been common property. Laying out the potential moral consequences of greed: As Tom waxed old, however, he grew thoughtful. Having secured the good things of this world, he began to feel anxious about those of the next. The communitys state of mind regarding the death of Walker and his wife: The good people of Boston shook their heads and shrugged their shoulders, but had been so much accustomed to witches and goblins and tricks of the devil in all kinds of shapes from the first settlement of the colony, that they were not so much horror struck as might have been expected. Study Guide Questions Once students have had a chance to read this classic tale, test their knowledge with these study questions: What is important about the title? Had you ever heard the phrase before reading the story?  What are the conflicts in The Devil and Tom Walker? What types of conflict (physical, moral, intellectual, or emotional) do you see?Does Irving reveal character in  The Devil and Tom Walker?  Who was Faust (in literary history)? How could Tom Walker be said to have made a Faustian bargain?How does greed factor into this story? Do you think the Walker familys financial situation plays a factor in their choices?  Ã‚  What are some themes in the story? How do they relate to the plot and characters?  Compare and contrast Tom Walker with Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, by  Charles Dickens  Is Tom Walker consistent in his actions? Is he a fully developed character? How? Why?  Do you find the characters likable? Are the characters persons you would want to meet?  Discuss some of the symbols in The Devil and Tom Walker.  How are women portrayed in this story? Is the portrayal positiv e or negative?  Ã‚  Does the story end the way you expected? How? Why? How did you feel about the ending? Was it fair? Why or why not?   What is the central or primary purpose of the story? Is the purpose important or meaningful?  How essential is the setting to the story? Could the story have taken place anywhere else?  What supernatural or surprising events are employed by  Washington Irving? Are these happenings believable?  How do you think Irvings Christian  beliefs impacted his writing?  Ã‚  What would you trade your soul for?  Do you think Tom and his wife made the right choice?

The Best Free Email Marketing Software Tools You Should Use

The Best Free Email Marketing Software Tools You Should Use Free doesn’t have to mean crap. Not even when it comes to email marketing software. Sure, your email list is valuable. 4,000% ROI-level valuable. But, that doesn’t mean every tool you use to execute an email strategy needs to be expensive. In fact, there are tons of free options out there, and they don’t even entail accepting compromises just to get work done. In this post, we’ll round up the best free email tools you should consider using. Then, we’ll show you how to build an entire workflow using free resources. Whether you’re operating on a shoestring budget, or just need a gadget or two to tackle certain tasks, you’re sure to find something you can use.The Best Free Email Marketing Software Tools You Should Use via @Introducing the Email Subject Line Tester You get one chance to write the perfect subject line for your email. Of course, there’s no way to be sure how it’ll perform until you hit â€Å"send.† But, wouldn’t be great if you could tilt the odds in your favor? That’s where our  Email Subject Line Tester  comes in. It's the best way to: Optimize subject lines: Understand which elements to adjust for best performance. Do better subject line A/B tests: Test multiple options, choose your best scores, and repeat. Improve open rates: 33% of recipients open emails based on the subject line. Test yours to make sure you're getting as many opens as possible. Give it a spin now and start optimizing every subject line you write (before sending it to your list). Try the new Email Subject Line Tester from @All 28 Email Marketing Tools This Post Will Cover You might just want a roundup of all the tools mentioned here. In that case, browse through this list and pick out what you need. Free Email Planning and Research Tools Before you get started creating email content, you have some legwork to do. Here are a few resources to help you plan. Free Email Marketing Calendar Template: We’ve included one in this post to help plan all your send dates. Feedly: One of the best RSS reader apps out there. Follow sources in your industry and surface the best content to share with your audience. Scope: Curious to know how a cool-looking email was coded? Use Scope to dissect it and see what you can learn. Try these free email planning and research tools Free Email Writing Tools Writing email copy isn’t easy. Neither is dealing with shame after sending an email with a spelling error. Tips the odds for success in your favor with a couple free editing tools. Grammarly: There’s nothing worse than sending an email to your entire list with a typo. Use Grammarly to catch them before you hit publish. Hemingway: Is your email copy clear and conversational? Use Hemingway to analyze your writing and make sure it’s easy to read. Write flawless emails with these free editing tools Free Email Design Tools Most email service providers make it easy to create designed emails using WYSIWYG editors and templates. If you prefer to hard code your own emails, though, there are free tools out there to help. BEE Free Responsive Email Builder: This responsive email builder lets you design email newsletters, and then deliver them with whichever service you prefer. Free HTML email template roundup from Colorlib: If you need HTML email templates, you’ll likely find several useful options amongst this enormous roundup. HTML to Text Email Converter: Plain text emails  might not look as attractive as designed emails, but they serve plenty of purposes (they’re easier to read, quicker to load, for starters). Use this tool to convert designed emails into plain text, if you plan to send two versions. Free Formatter: Building emails with HTML? Use this tool to cleanly format your code. Da Button Factory: Use this to build CTA buttons for your HTML emails. PicResize: If you have images in your email, and don’t want to fire up Photoshop to resize them, use PicResize to get the job done quickly. Here's how to design great marketing emails without breaking the bank Free Landing Page Building Tools Each of these tools are meant to do one thing: create conversion-optimized landing pages to direct traffic toward from your emails. MailChimp Landing Page Builder Ucraft Landing Page Builder Vertical Response Landing Page Builder OntraPages Landing Page Builder Xtensio Landing Page Creator Send your email traffic to well-designed landing pages with these free tools Free Email Testing Tools Once you hit Send on an email, it’s gone. Outta there. Not coming back, no matter how bad you need to fix something. Get it right before you deliver with these free resources. Mail Tester: Make sure your email isn’t likely to trip spam filters before you send it. Email Deliverability Test: Ensure your email has a high probability of landing in your recipient’s inbox. Email Subject Line Tester: Optimize subject lines before you send to maximize opens and clicks. This one was built by , and its available as a web-based landing page, or within the platform itself. A/B Split Test Calculator: Use this calculator to determine the statistical relevance of your A/B test results. A/B Split Test Duration Calculator: How long should your A/B tests run for? Here’s one way to find out. Email Rendering Preview: If you’re building HTML emails, it’s always good to know how they will appear in people’s inboxes. This tool lets you take a sneak peek. PutsMail: Test your subject line and body content appearance before sending your email. Test every email before hitting Send with these free tools Free Email Service Providers and Delivery Tools Getting emails built and sent is much easier with an email service provider. Here, we’ll recommend a couple, plus one additional tool for easily automating email promotions from RSS. MailChimp: Free for up to 2,000 subscribers and 12,000 emails per month. Integrates with to plan and schedule emails on your marketing calendar. SendInBlue: Free for 300 emails per day. ChimpFeedr: Create RSS-based email subscription feeds effortlessly. Get started with email marketing using these free email service providers Free Email Measurement and Analytics Tools Most ESPs include built-in analytics, but there are a couple tools we recommend using for building tracking URLs. Google Analytics Campaign URL Builder: Use this to create trackable URLs to use in your email content. Google Analytics: Measure referral traffic and conversions from your emails. Measure the performance of your marketing emails with these free tools Plugging Free Tools Into Your Email Marketing Workflow So, now you have a giant list of free tools. Now, how to actually use any of them? Let’s walk through where they fit in your workflow. Step 1: Planning Your Email Newsletter The first step is figuring out what your email will include. Are you putting together: A sales email. Something informational. A product update. Once you have that down, Then, if your newsletter will be rounding up curated content, check out your feeds in Feedly to find relevant content to share: Finally, plan your send date on the email calendar template we’ve included in this post: Using this template, you can map out the following for each email send: Send date Email creator/owner Email type (promo, newsletter, etc) Target Persona Email List (name of list segment that should receive it) Supporting details on each piece of content included in your email And more. In short, using a calendar is an easy way to keep every email send organized. Or, if you’re a paid customer, in (you can snag a free 14-day trial here): Do This In : Using the MailChimp integration, you can automate marketing email newsletter delivery on your marketing calendar. This helps you see every delivery date alongside the rest of your marketing campaigns, content, and projects. Step 2: Writing Your Email Content Next, fire up a word processor and start crafting your next masterpiece. To make sure it’s readable, scan your content in Hemingway. Then, run it through Grammarly to help catch any typos you may have missed: After that, try ’s Email Subject Line Tester and write several email subject line options you think might work. First, enter your subject line: Then, review your analysis. It’ll start by letting you know if you’re using words that either increase or decrease opens (and includes links to word banks showing you which words to consider adding, or avoiding): You’ll also get recommendations on which style case to use: Then, you’ll see suggestions for word count, number usage, and emojis: Finally, you’ll get an illustrated preview of how your subject line might appear to a reader: Try writing several subject line options until you narrow it down to two that you’ll A/B test. Recommended Reading: Everything You Need to Know About Writing Awesome Email Subject Lines Step 3: Designing Your Email Hand-coding marketing emails is not for the faint of heart. It’s also not necessarily essential, with ESPs offering much of the functionality most marketers might need to develop emails. But, there are benefits to designing emails yourself. You get total control over how your email designs look, and it makes sure your emails are unique and more difficult to duplicate. Using the free tools in this post, you can either create emails totally from scratch (which, realistically, you would probably have a developer take on this task), or use freely available templates and tools to create your own, separate from the templates available in your ESP. Note: If you’re using an email service provider like MailChimp, Campaign Monitor, or another similar service, skip this section. First, you might want to snag some inspiration from another email you’ve seen. Try using Scope, a free tool from Litmus, to see how it was built. All you need to do is visit the site, and click and drag the bookmarklet to your browser toolbar: Next, pull open an email you want to examine in Gmail, and click Scope It in your toolbar: The next step is to click the arrow pointers in the middle right to see the source code, or use the Code/Design toggle switch on the upper right: If you choose to go this route, fire up BeeFree.io and select one of the available templates: Or, select Start From Scratch and create your own: As you’re adding content and graphics to your email, use PicResizer to keep images within a reasonable size before dropping them into your newsletter: Then, once you click Save, you can download your email as HTML and send it with your ESP (or, you can upgrade to a paid plan). Now, according to MailChimp, it’s wise to send a plain text version along with designed emails. So, use their HTML to Text Email Converter to make this process easy: Step 4: Create and Schedule Your Email If you’re not building your email by hand, then create and schedule it using MailChimp. This video will show you how to get it done: If your email has links, you’ll also want to use trackable URLs. Use the Google Analytics Campaign URL Builder  to help you track referral traffic from your email: Step 5: Design Your Landing Page (Optional) If you’re sending marketing emails, there’s a good chance you’re promoting something. That means you might also have a campaign landing page where you’re directing traffic. MailChimp makes it easy to create a landing page quickly with their landing page builder. Here’s how it works: Recommended Reading: How to Write Landing Pages That Convert Step 6: Test Your Email Before Delivery A lot can go wrong with email marketing if you aren’t careful. So, let’s make sure your email is well-optimized for success before hitting send. Start by making sure you’re not likely to end up in the SPAM folder using Mail Tester. First, send your email to the address you’re shown: Then, you’ll receive a report checking your spam score. Next, let’s check your email deliverability. This email deliverability test tool from Send Forensics  will help you determine your deliverability performance according to industry benchmarks, and more. To start, the tool will ask for some information: Then, you’ll get an analysis back with some useful stats and data. Now, most ESPs (like MailChimp) make it easy to set up A/B tests to see which subject line influences the most opens. You might want to test all kinds of different elements, from email layouts, to CTAs, to subject lines, and beyond. To calculate how long you should run an A/B test in order to drive a desired increase in conversions, use VWO’s A/B Split Test Duration Calculator. You can use this for all kinds of different A/B tests (like split testing landing pages, for example), but it works well for our purposes here, too. How do you know if your split test results mean, well, anything? Use this A/B Split Test Calculator. It’ll tell you whether there’s any meaningful statistical correlation between result A and result B, based on your total sample size: Finally, if you’re curious how your email will display in various email clients, use Email Previews. It lets you see how your email will look across 90+ different apps: Step 7: Measure Your Email Marketing Performance Now, once your email is sent, you’ll need to measure its performance, and apply what you learn to your next email send. If you’re using MailChimp, you can find a lot of data right in the app. Follow these three guides: How to use Email Campaign Reports in Google Analytics. How to connect your MailChimp account to Google Analytics. Where to find MailChimp data in Google Analytics. If you’re building your own emails, check out this guide from Smart Insights  on using Google Analytics to measure email marketing performance. Recommended Reading: 20 Email Marketing Best Practices That Will Improve Results What Are You Getting Done With Free Email Software? If you’re serious about email marketing, you’re probably paying for an email provider, and maybe some other tools, too. But, if cost has prohibited you from getting started, hopefully you were pleasantly surprised to learn what you could get done completely for free. Even if you are using a sophisticated email tool stack, hopefully you did find something here you could use, and know exactly where to incorporate it into your workflow.