Analysis Of Vineland And Robert Coover 's Dramatic Monologue Rip Awake

Through the course of “Rip Van Winkle” you stumble upon many remarkable and strange characters. Washington Irving reveals these complex characters through humor and exaggeration. Irving not only gives readers the characters

Washington Irving is known as being one of the most famous American authors in history. He has created fresh and exciting stories such as “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” “The Devil and Tom Walker,” and “Rip Van Winkle” that continue to captivate those who read them even today. In these three stories, Irving takes a stance on what the early Americas were like as he creates settings full of both mystery and wonder. His settings are symbols of both America’s mystery and potential, and he uses personification and motifs to convey this message.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, written by Washington Irving, fits nicely into the Romanticism period due to its eloquent descriptions and detail to the nature around the village, the attention and focus on the main character and the addition of ghost stories and superstitions. These pieces come together to build a story of conflict and adventure. To further describe how all of the pieces fit together, we must first begin with the author. Washington Irving, born in 1783, was a well-traveled and well-educated young man. He dabbled in the areas of law, family business and even a diplomat for Spain but found the most success in his writing. Irving was considered the first author to write American Short Stories (Irving Biography). The two he is most well-known for is Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow was written in 1819, contains elements from light romanticism and humor (Dincer 219). The piece is about a young man by the name of Ichabod Crane whom tries to win the heart of a young lady by the name of Katrina Van Tassel. This story takes place in a small rural

American Romanticism illustrates the first truly American literary movement that began alongside the beginning of a new nation. American Romanticism appeared in response to the rationalists, such as Ben Franklin, which the American Romantics believed to be too single-minded and expressive. American Romanticism focused on the beauty of nature, imagination, feelings and expressions, higher truths in life that had to be discovered, and individualism. Consequently, this literary movement turned away from the corruption of cities and the rationalist mindset of the world and focused on nature and imagination. Washington Irving, in his stories “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “Rip Van Winkle”, displays characteristics of American Romanticism and

In Washington Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle,” an allegorical reading can be seen. The genius of Irving shines through, in not only his representation in the story, but also in his ability to represent both sides of the hot political issues of the day. Because it was written during the revolutionary times, Irving had to cater to a mixed audience of Colonists and Tories. The reader’s political interest, whether British or Colonial, is mutually represented allegorically in “Rip Van Winkle,” depending on who is reading it. Irving uses Rip, Dame, and his setting to relate these allegorical images on both sides. Irving would achieve success in both England and America, in large part because his political satires had individual allegorical meanings.

Washington Irving found inspiration for his short story in the German legend of Faust, which was a story of a man making

Washington Irving’s Rip Van Winkle, at first glance, seems rather straightforward. A young man, in a rather small village, trying to get away from his duties of being a husband and his wife in general. However, while analyzing it further, it appears Irving is trying to give insight into his thoughts and feelings surrounding the American Revolution. As many thoughts and feelings are hidden in the writing of this text, the search for an identity during this time is the one that sticks out the most while reading Rip Van Winkle. There are many aspects of the short story that put emphasis on identity during this time in American history. There are many metaphors, comparisons and situations that point to identity being an important aspect of

"Rip Van Winkle" has been a well-known story told throughout time. There is not a doubt that as a child, many of you heard the words of Washington Irving's famous tale of the man who slept for twenty years. Nor can one forget the "elves" that Rip Van Winkle spent the night with in the amphitheater. Like many stories, Irving's "Rip Van Winkle" has been told so many times throughout American history that it has lost its original purpose. The story is now remembered for its fairy tale like quality and its appeal to the children and the young at heart. However, when given the chance to delve into the depths of what Irving was trying to portray, one may see the

Washington Irving is the author of the tale “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” that was written in the nineteenth century (Baym 25). Irving was born in New York City on April 3rd, 1783 and was the last of eleven children. At home, Irving read a wide range of English literature and delighted in many other writers, including Shakespeare, Oliver Goldsmith, and Laurence Sterne. In 1830 Irving bought and began refurbishing a house along the Hudson River near Tarrytown (Baym 25). The beginning of Irving’s tale opens up with the description of the charming Hudson Valley region of Sleepy Hollow near Tarrytown. “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” represents a popular tale in Irving’s book The Sketch Book. It’s ghostly tale that talks about a mysterious Headless Horseman that is said to be a Hessian trooper who lost his head in battle. It is said that every night, the Headless Horseman roams the countryside in search of his head. There is an unlikely hero in this tale named Ichabod Crane, but to the people of Sleepy Hollow the real hero is Brom Bones.

Rip Van Winkle, a story written by Washington Irving in the early 1800s, demonstrates the emergence and development of American Mythology. Packed full of mythological elements, Irving’s tale depicts a man who encounters mysterious and fantastical characters in equally intriguing settings. Rip Van Winkle displays three major factors that contribute to mythology: mysterious, historical setting, remarkable and strange characters, and heroic, magical events and their consequences.

Washington Irving and Edgar Allan Poe were both writers who exemplified the writing style of the Romantic era. Both writers used their great talents to take the reader into the story. For example, Irving, in “Rip Van Winkle”, starts the story by saying, “Whoever has made a courage up the Hudson must remember the Kaatskill Mountains.” He also involves the reader in the story by taking us into the everyday lives of the Van Winkles and goes into some detail describing Rip’s “business”.

Washington Irving was born in 1783 and died in 1859. He was the first American writer to receive an international literary reputation through his works, “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” He was also known as one of the inventors of modern short story and was able to financially support himself as a writer. He usually wrote comical pieces, but produced works with darker themes based on historical context. As for the historical context of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” it was based on the aftermath of the Revolutionary War, between America and Great Britain. Some historical elements featured the Headless Horseman, which was supposedly a Hessian. The Hessians were hired to aid the British in the war. The supernatural stories served as a reminder of the war and told by those who were traumatized. In Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Ichabod Crane is a schoolteacher who takes an interest in the wealthiest man’s daughter, Katrina

When read at first glance, Washington Irving's "Rip Van Winkle" seems to be a tale of a lazy man who just wanted some peace and quiet, and ended up with almost too much of it. When analyzed at a deeper level however, "Rip Van Winkle" is more a symbolic story about the changes in the world going on at the time the story was written. Irving wrote "Rip Van Winkle" to show the world the struggle of the newly independent Americans trying to cope with life after English rule.

In the late 1700's and early 1800's, literature began to show it was changing thanks to the newly formed democracy in America. As is the case with any young government, many different interest groups arose to attempt to mold the government according to their vision of democracy. Washington Irving, a native New Yorker born in 1783, grew up in a world engulfed in these democratic ideals. He grew up to be, as many would grow up in this atmosphere, a political satirist. This satirical nature of Irving's shows up well in "Rip Van Winkle", as he uses historical allusions and symbolic characters to mockingly compare colonial life under British rule to the democracy of the young United States.

In this assignment I am going to focus on the origin of American fiction and specifically, I am going to talk about two famous authors who are characteristic of this type of literature. The purpose of this essay is comparing these two writers through their works: Rip Van Winkle and The last of the Mohicans. These writers are Washington Irving and James Fenimore Cooper.