Question

What satirical statement does Washington Irving make about Tom Walker and society in this excerpt from "The Devil and Tom Walker"?

He insisted that the money found through his means should be employed in his service. He proposed, therefore, that Tom should employ it in the black traffic; that is to say, that he should fit out a slave ship. This, however, Tom resolutely refused: he was bad enough in all conscience, but the Devil himself could not tempt him to turn slave-trader.




A.Shunning slavery is expected even from morally corrupt men like Tom.
B.Although Tom shuns slavery, he still oppresses people with extortion.
C.Supporting slavery and participating in the slave trade is evil.
D.Tom realizes that the slave trade is worse than extorting money from others.
E.Indulging in extortion is more reprehensible than supporting slavery.

Answer 1

it's B, satire always drags down someone and is often times ironic, I also had this question on a test

Answer 2

B.Although Tom shuns slavery, he still oppresses people with extortion.

He was bad enough in all conscience but the Devil himself could not tempt him to turn slave-trader. The importances of this double moral to the story is the satiric part of the bilateral human condition, it´s innate in humans to have greyscales within them, no one is fully good or totally evil.