“There are many shortcuts to failure, but there are none to true success,” quoted Orrin Woodward. Although tempting, shortcuts in life are more destructive than relieving. Tom takes many shortcuts in the story, revealing how greed affected the path he took. He took a shortcut to get home to what he believes is happiness through a deal with the devil, and to get out of the deal with the devil. In Washington Irving's short story, "The Devil and Tom Walker", many moral messages about life are introduced. Irving's dark descriptive style and symbolism are illustrated by the lesson of horrific results due to shortcuts taken. Since the dawn of time, the devil has been known to make deals with weak mortals. The devil often demands your soul in exchange for riches or your heart's desire. Irving based his story on this archetypal plot of selling one's soul to the devil. This made it impossible for someone to resist the offer unless they had strong core values. Tom prefers to give his soul to the devil in order to make his way to wealth. This indicates the greed that Tom Walker faces and how self-centered he becomes when given the opportunity to find true happiness. Most of Irving's works were based on folklore. Folklore was an inspirational type of entertainment that emphasized the importance of tradition, history, and wisdom. One of Irving's biggest outlets, The Sketch Book, was based on German folklore and legends. “The Devil and Tom Walker” was considered the American version of the archetypal Faust story. Faust was an old German legend about a 16th century German philosopher who sold his soul to the devil to obtain knowledge and power. Many people considered Faust to be the main inspiration for Washington Irving's story "The Devil and Tom Walker." Irving used "The Devil and Tom Walker" as a richly symbolic story that shaped many people's opinions during World War II.