Read the following passage from “The Devil and Tom Walker.” What statement about the cultural attitudes in Massachusetts is Wash
ing Irving making in this passage? “Oh, I go by various names,” [says the Devil]. “I am the wild huntsman in some countries; the black miner in others. In this neighborhood I am known by the name of the black woodsman. I am he to whom the red men consecrated this spot, and in honor of whom they now and then roasted a white man, by way of sweet-smelling sacrifice. Since the red men have been exterminated by you white savages, I amuse myself by presiding at the persecutions of Quakers and Anabaptists; I am the great patron and prompter of slave-dealers and the grand-master of the Salem witches.”
A) Irving is praising the colonists for taking a stand against evil.
B) Irving is condemning the colonists’ mistreatment of others.
C) Irving is ridiculing the superstitious beliefs of the colonists.
D) Irving is showing the different attitudes colonists have about the devil.
B) Irving is condemning the colonists’
mistreatment of others.
<span>We know the answer is not “A” because Irving
would, thus, need to be praising the devil since he attributes the persecutions
to the devil as the devil mentions he presides at the persecutions. We know the answer is not “C” because
superstition is not innately evil and is considered silly to some, and there is
nothing silly about the killing those found guilty during the persecutions of
the Quakers and Anabaptists. We know “D”
is not the answer because there is no mention as to how colonists view the devil.
There is mention of how the devil is
known in other countries; the only mention of the devil and the colonists is
how the devil mentions he presides at persecutions. Thus, we know that “B” is the best response because
to describe actions as those being watched over and encouraged by the devil is a condemnation
insinuating those taking part are accessories/accomplices to evil. </span>
