The Devil And Tom Walker

The story also uses trees as a moral symbol during the first meeting of Tom and Old Scratch. Old Scratch is felling timber for firewood and draws Tom’s attention to a particular tree, one that is “fair and flourishing without” but “rotten at the core” (223). Tom sees the name of Deacon Peabody, a local religious leader, carved on this tree; further, the names of many other respected citizens are carved on other trees, all of which are in the process of being chopped down. The trees symbolize how a life that is outwardly respectable can hide base motives and a corrupt soul; the narrator specifies that Deacon Peabody had been known for “driving shrewd bargains with the Indians” (223). Similarly, the story will later show how Tom’s outwardly devout and businesslike exterior hides deep moral corruption. This episode may allude to a passage in the New Testament in which Jesus compares the soul to a tree bearing either good or bad fruit:

Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. (Matthew 3: 10)

After their initial meeting, Old Scratch plants this “signature” with his finger on Tom’s forehead as a pledge or token. Once home, Tom finds “the black print of a finger burnt, as it were, into his forehead, which nothing would obliterate” (225). This symbolizes that Tom has made a deal with the devil which will leave a permanent mark on his soul. The black mark is never more mentioned, but we might assume that it remains on Tom’s forehead for all to see. Thus, while evil sometimes hides deeply in the human psyche, other times it is outwardly apparent and gives a warning to others.