Greed is the motivating force behind the characters in “The Devil and Tom Walker,” including arguably Old Scratch himself, who desires to gather new souls for Hell. Throughout the story, Irving makes explicit the fact that it is Tom’s greed that destroys him, and the idea that greed is a moral evil. He achieves this particularly through his use of language that implies a link between greed and a bad life. When the Walkers first appear, the word “miserly” is used three times in quick succession (220), complemented by such terms as “prying,” “lay hands on,” “hid away,” “starvation,” “miserable,” and “avarice.” Later, Tom must seriously think about whether he would sell his soul to get money (225). His wife has no qualms at all; she wants above all to be “wealthy for life” (225). Particularly damning is the fact that Old Scratch considers usurers, who are motivated by greed, to be “his peculiar people” (228).

The motivating factor of greed may extend even to the ruined speculator who comes to Tom for help at the end of the story. His financial ruin, caused by his greed for land and money, prefigures Tom’s moral ruin.