In the novel Sleepy Hollow, by Peter Lerangis, several elements of the Romantic period of literature are evident. Themes carry throughout the novel that suggest a strong Romantic influence upon the text. The story is rich in colorful figurative language and contains a spell-binding plot that leaves the reader feeling very satisfied. In the midst of such an enchanting story are the Romantic themes, such as a deep appreciation of nature in conjunction with the condemnation of city life, exaltation of emotion over reason along with the defiance of conventional rules and traditions, and interest in local folk/ethnic culture, while providing the reader with plenty of attention to the supernatural. Each of these elements combines to create a …show more content…
It is ironic that for the duration of the beginning of the novel, Crane refuses to allow anyone to speak of such theoretically impossible tales as the tale of the Headless Horseman. However, after seeing the beast for himself, he is pleading with the people of the town that they "must believe [him]," and that he can assure all of them of the visual contact he made with "a horseman. A dead one. Headless!"(Lerangis 66). With his newfound faith in the credibility of the legends around the hollow, Ichabod decides that all of the logic and reason he had previously relied on are of no use to him. It is ironic that one night 's events have changed his views on reasoning so quickly. Nearing the novel 's end, Ichabod burns all of his ledgers and papers that had held his knowledge over the past several years. In doing so, it is apparent that he has accepted the fact that "sense and knowledge had betrayed him in Sleepy Hollow"(Lerangis 125). Ichabod 's sense and knowledge are personified in this passage to show the reader that two ideals which he had held so close to heart and high in regard had proved to be inadequate. This further exaggerates the Romantic ideals of the power of emotion over all reason and logic. Along with this newfound reliance on emotion rather than reason is a defiant quality of all formal rules and traditions. All of the other authoritative figures in New York shun
The original story by Washington Irving starts out in a small town of Sleepy Hollow. Irving paints an image of bountiful crops, beautiful scenery, and
“In the dark shadow of the grove… [Ichabod] beheld something huge, misshapen, black and towering...up in the gloom...some gigantic monster” and “summoning up, [from his trembling body] a show of courage...he demanded in stammering accents- ‘Who are you?’”. In the short story, the “Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, Washington Irving, tells the adventures of a schoolteacher, Ichabod Crane, in the haunted town of Sleepy Hollow. There, he pursues the local beauty, Katrina van Tassel, competing with the town’s rowdy prankster, Brom Bones. As the plot intensifies, Ichabod’s superstition eventually leads to his downfall when he is chased by the legendary ghost of the Headless Horseman in a terrifying and vivid scene after a party at Katrina’s house. The next day, Ichabod has disappeared, his fate unknown. Throughout the story, Irving creates suspense with the use of imagery to build up a frightening scene in the reader’s mind and ambiguity to make them anxious as they feel a sense of mysteriousness as to what really happened.
“The dominant spirit, however, that haunts this enchanted region, and seems to be commander-in-chief of all the powers of the air, is the apparition of a figure on horseback without a head.” Although the movie Sleepy Hollow is based upon the book The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, there are also distinctions which allow each to tell their own tale. Washington Irving’s short story inspired Tim Burton’s film but did not limit it. The foundations of the two are much the same but their story lines unfold diversely. Some of the similarities include the setting, characters, and plot points. Two of the many contradicting ideas are the character of Ichabod Crane and the conclusions. The similarities and differences of both accounts can be stated plainly
Ever since the invention of language, humans have been obsessed and intrigued with the aspect of storytelling. Each story, whether written or spoken, holds an important theme within its creative words and exciting plot. While each story is special and unique, over the course of history, different periods of literature have formed where authors tend to focus on similar themes and messages. One of which was the American Romantic era, where authors used their stories to challenge the boundaries of society, and delve deeper into what makes people inherently human, both the flaws and perfections. Some of America’s greatest works of literature were born in this period, like those of Poe, and Hawthorne. A very common literary theme during the romantic period was that of good versus evil, in both individual characters and society as a whole; this theme is especially evident in works such as The Tell Tale Heart, The Raven, and Young Goodman Brown.
(Page 1) “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” has different tones throughout the story. At the beginning the tone is somnolent yet peaceful, then the tone gets spooky slightly sarcastic, humorous, mocking and surreal.
At first glance, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving seems to be an innocent tale about a superstitious New England town threatened by a strange new comer, Icabod Crane. However, this descriptive narrative is more than just a simple tale because it addresses several gender issues that deserve attention. The pervasiveness of female influence in Sleepy Hollow and the conflict between male and female storytelling in this Dutch community are two pertinent gender issues that complicate Irving's work and ultimately enable the women of Sleepy Hollow to control the men and maintain order.
The film Sleepy Hollow directed by Tim Burton, centres around a detective who is sent from the city to a small country town to investigate a series of bizarre murders. While he is in town he has to deal with love, past issues and also discover why the horseman has returned from the dead to kill townspeople. The story is based around the battle of good and evil with Ichabod Crane being good as he believes in finding the truth in everything and the Horseman being evil personified as he will not stop killing. Burton displays the constant battle between good and evil throughout the film through the characterization of Ichabod Crane and the Hessian. Burton also uses settings to show what each thing represents like the forest is the gateway to hell
Many connections to famous books or movies can be made to the Headless Horseman or the "Heissan" as he is referred to many times in the original "Sleepy Hollow". The Headless Horseman has a few key traits: engimatic, supernatural, and terror raising/feared. Only a few have ever come face to face with the Horseman, the nemesis of Ichabod Crane (main character) Brom Van Brunt has a supposed run in with the horseman and lives to tell the tale, while the village elders go off of stories. When his name is spoken townsfolk quiver at the stories and terror brought about by the mistery of the supernatural. This horseman is no ordinary horseman, he frightens the whole town, patrolling the church grounds where he is supposedly buried, he makes quick work of anyone who dares go near.
Over time, a change has occurred from the typical horror story to a violent and bloody legend. The original short story " The Legend of the Sleepy Hollow" is an example of a simple, yet mysterious fable in which Ichabod Crane acts as the protagonist. Ichabod becomes the victim of the feared headless horseman after believing the superstitious tales of this spirit preying in the night. The film that is supposedly based upon the tale provides a deceiving, yet compelling title of Sleepy Hollow, as one might assume that the film is a reenactment of the short story. The film and original tale differ in that the film has blood, gore and controversy while the story depicts a
Washington Irving’s short story, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” was adapted into a movie titled “Sleepy Hollow” directed by Tim Burton nearly two centuries after the original publication. When the story was adapted as a film, several extensive changes were made. A short story easily read in one sitting was turned into a nearly two-hour thriller, mystery, and horror movie by incorporating new details and modifying the original version of the story. The short story relates the failed courtship of Katrina Van Tassel by Ichabod Crane. His courtship is cut short by the classic romance antagonist-the bigger, stronger, and better looking Broom Bones. Ichabod wishes to marry Katrina because of her beauty but also because of the wealthy inheritance
“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is short story of speculative fiction written by Washington Irving, published in 1820. It follows the journey of Ichabod Crane and Brom Bones in their attempt to win over Katrina Van Tassel. Many adaptions have been made of Irving’s original story with one of the most known being “Sleepy Hollow” a 1999 American horror film directed by Tim Burton. The movie follows a different but similar plot to the original story with the murders of the headless horseman being the main focus of the movie. In both versions it can be clearly seen how the setting has a huge impact on all aspects of the book and film particularly the themes, values and characterisation.
Sleepy Hollow is characterized as a place that exudes a magical, languid ambience, a place where imagination rules and reason fails:
Washington Irving’s, the author of the story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, uses imagery throughout the story to interpret the setting and mood of the story. At the beginning of the story, Erving uses suspenseful imagery to describe the location of the valley that he lives in as one of the quietest places on earth . He ackno in the story “Not far from this village, perhaps about two miles down the road, there is a little valley or lap of land among the hills, which is one of the quietest places in the world.” The main character Ichabod Crane is a school teacher, Erving the author uses imagery in such a way to give the readers the full effect of what his classroom looks like. “His schoolhouse was a low building of one large room, rudely constructed of logs; the windows partly glazed, and partly patched with leaves of old copybooks,” he says this in such a way that the reader can imagine the school room as if they were there and it adds suspense to the rest of the story. Washington Irving set the mood of thrilling suspense and the spooky setting of a quiet town by using imagery throughout his story of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”.
The town of Sleepy Hollow is isolated, dark and gloomy, it also has contains mostly gothic architecture. This is to support the spine chilling atmosphere that Tim Burton has intended in the film. This is to create a theme of fear and panic towards the viewer because the idea of gothic horror is to create a suspenseful, isolated and dark environment in the movie. An example of this is when Ichabod Crane arrives at sleepy hollow and is instantly greeted by a grave yard and a gloomy, foggy and gothic looking town. The setting of the place in this scene is an excellent example of how gothic horror differs from other styles of horror.
You may of heard of a time called the American Romanticism Period, but i’m sure you don't know the whole story. The Romantic period was a time in history that symbolised Romance and different Characteristics you might of felt in the stories. Some of the Characteristics might be Focus on an Individual, Supernatural, Intuition over Fact, Imagination over Reason, Emphasis on Emotion, Love of Childhood, Awareness of Past, Belief in Democracy, and Love of Nature. There were many books in this period that had these kinds of characteristics. Some of the Books might of been “The Devil and Tom Walker” , “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment” , and “Old Ironside”. In this letter I will tell you all you need to know about these stories and the Romantic Period.