Point of View

This story is narrated by Geoffrey Crayon, a fictional character created by Irving who appears in a number of the author's works. The story's status of "legend" or"tall tale" is enhanced by Crayon's comments and the fact that he places the year it takes place, 1727, nearly a hundred years before the date he is writing Tales of a Traveller. Crayon refers to the rumors of treasure near Boston as "old stories" and states that the fate of Tom's wife "is one of those facts which have become confounded by a variety of historians." Through this secondhand narration, Irving shows that the tale has a long, local history, a primary characteristic of a folktale. Furthermore, the narrator states that "the story has resolved itself into a proverb, and is the origin of that popular saying, so prevalent in New England, of 'The Devil and Tom...