A
characteristic of Romanticism is a rejection of organized religion. 's conversion to vigorous
Christianity in his schemes to cheat the devil shows off the worst of organized religion when
Tom "talked of the expediency of reviving the persecution of Quakers and
Anabaptists."
The incorporation of supernatural elements is commonly
found in Romantic literature. The fact that the devil plays a prominent role in the story meets
this criterion. When the devil makes himself known to him, Tom conjectures "you are he
commonly called ." The devil confirms Tom's surmise, answering "the same, at your
service!"
Romantic literature is also characterized by an interest in
the past. Though the story was published in the 1820s, Irving sets it during the colonial
period, during the years of the Great Awakening. Tom is living near Boston at the tail end of
the Puritan era, and the narrator describes it as "about the year 1727, just at the time
that earthquakes were prevalent in New England, and shook many tall sinners down upon their
knees"referring to the (ultimately failed) Puritan revival movement.
Another example of Irving's interest in the past is his evocation of the legend of
"a great amount of treasure buried by Kidd the pirate" in the swamp that Tom cuts
through on his way home. William Kidd was a notorious seventeenth-century Scottish
pirate.
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