Like many of Washington Irving's stories, "The Devil and Tom Walker" is set in colonial America near Boston. Although Irving himself wrote most of his stories during the early 1800s, setting his stories during the colonial period and the American revolution allowed Irving to give a mythical, folk tale quality to his stories. In particular, setting the story of the "The Devil and Tom Walker" in colonial America allowed Irving to put his own interpretation on the classic German legend of Faust, a scholar who makes a pact with the devil for knowledge and success. Irving uses this setting along with a distinctly American vernacular and themes to turn the classic German legend into a tale that seems as American as apple pie.
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