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The Devil and Tom Walker
Study Guide
Please answer all questions on a separate sheet of paper.
Setting
1. Where does the story take place?
2. What type of mood does the setting portray?
Main Characters:
1. What types of traits are represented in Tom Walker, his wife, and the Devil?
Prediction:
1. How will Tom Walker and his wife’s greed affect the plot and outcome of the
story?
2. Do you believe that the greed seen in the main characters will lead to their
destruction? Is greed the source of all evil?
3. Will the devil lure Tom and his wife into the trap of greed and lust?
Plot:
1. As Tom encounters the devil, is he immediately interested in the offer, or does he
let his conscious speak and influence his decision?
2. As Tom Walker’s wife learns about Tom’s encounter with the devil, is she
immediately overcome with lust and greed? Does her judgment and reasoning
influence her actions?
3. As Tom agrees to the Devil’s offer, does he have any regrets?
4. After first robbing people of their money, does Tom begin to change for better or
for worse? What actions does tom take to clear his mind and his conscious of
guilt?
5. Is Tom fully committed to change through religion, or does he appear to be
lenient? Has he fully left the devil’s request?
6. What significance does Tom working at banking instead of reading the Bible,
show about his commitments to religion and change? How does the coming of the
devil during this time, reflect Tom’s conflict between God and the devil?
7. As Tom is taken away by the devil, after going to church and praying, show about
his inner conflict between God and the Devil? Who did Tom choose? (GodDevil/Good-Greed).
8. Did greed change Tom’s life for better or for worse?
Conflicts:
1. In what ways was the conflict between good and evil apparent “The Devil and
Tom Walker”? In what ways is the conflict between good and evil apparent
today?
Theme:
Money is the source of all greed, and greed/lust only lead to evil. Do not let greed
control your judgment. Banking and lust for money is the work of the devil.