Throughout time there have been many stories/songs that involve “selling your soul to the devil”. The Devil and Tom Walker and The Escape Clause are just two examples of this archetype. These two stories have many similarities and many differences. Some of the main similarities are the archetype “selling your soul to the devil” and in both stories they regret the decision they made with the devil. Some the main differences between are the thing they sold their soul for, and the appearance of the devil.
In both of these stories the main character “Tom Walker” and “Walter Bedeker” are both mean-spirited men who want for things beyond their grasp. Tom Walker is a greedy man who wants want lots and lots of money so when “Old Scratch” approaches him with an offer of money he can’t say no to the deal. But with Walker Bedeker he wants to live forever so when the devil gives him immortality he can’t do anything but give the devil his soul.
By the end of the story both Tom Walker and Walter Bedeker regret selling their souls to the devil. They both cheat people out of money which ends up leading to their demise. Walter Bedeker jumps in front of trains, cars and anything he can find so he can file a claim to get insurance money. But he ends up wanting to see if the electric chair can kill him… he kills him wife and wants to be sentenced to death but the Judge gives him life instead so he is instead stuck in prison and has to use his “Escape Clause” which kills him and gives his soul to the devil. On the other hand Tom Walker becomes an Usher where he contunes to be greedy and cheat people out of money but as he gets older he realizes he is going to have so give up his soul he tries to cheat the devil by becoming a church goers which ends up back firing and sends Tom to “Old Scratch”. "About the year 1727, just at the time when earthquakes were prevalent in New England, and shook many tall sinners down upon their knees, there lived near this place a meagre miserly fellow of the name of Tom Walker." (The Devil and Tom Walker).
