Bones And Ichabod Crane In Washington Irving's The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow

In “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, Washington Irving prominently illustrates the power of imagination. Ichabod being rather foolish and comedic protagonist explains the strength of his thoughts, despite that this leads him to his downfall. In spite of the fact that Ichabod’s main pleasure is to either hear or read stories about demons, ghosts, and witches; however, since he has powerful imagination making him believe that almost everything is supernatural. His creative ability in its fantasizing capacity does, in any case, truly influence his life in that it fortifies his barrenness. ‘Ichabod 's creative ability is powerful to the point that he trusts himself basically as of now the proprietor of the Van Tassel cultivate ‘(Hoffman, 426). Since he gets such a

Edgar Allan Poe and Washington Irving are both enthralling writers. They both have unusual styles of writing but they are similar in some ways. The writers are comparable in the use of tone in their works. Irving‘s use of tone in his stories are typically optimistic, yet dramatic. Poe’s uses of tone in his stories are filled with horror and are also dramatic. Poe and Irving use different techniques to develop a complex meaning in their short stories. For instance, elements such as imagery, tone, and irony are placed in these stories contribute to make these stories intense.

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 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.

In the story, Brom Bones, although he is not the main character of the story, represents more of the American Romantic hero than Ichabod Crane. Brom Bones demonstrates this role as a hero since he is physically fit and innocent in mind since he is not formally educated. The American Romantics valued people that did not have a formal education and were pure in mind. Conversely, Ichabod Crane demonstrates many values that were not cherished by the American Romantics. Ichabod Crane was a teacher and had a higher education that the American Romantics appreciated. He also did not have a higher purpose that he believed in, and was not innocent. This lack of innocence can be seen with the maxim Ichabod believed in, “spare the rod and spoil the child” (Irving, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”). This quote focuses on his teaching style, where he was not a gentle person to children, but rather a harsh teacher. Moreover, he would go to live in the homes of the students “who happened to have pretty sisters, or good housewives for mothers” (Irving, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”). Ichabod does not have the innocence or mentality that help to define an American Romantic hero, which is especially seen in how he does not appreciate nature as much as the American Romantics would. Rather than turning away from civilization and moving towards a deep inspiration and appreciation of nature, Ichabod embraces society. In this story, Ichabod appreciates Sleepy Hollow and wishes to stay there, thinking positively of the houses and luxuries that some of the people have. This is best demonstrated when Irving states, “When he entered the house, the conquest of his heart was complete” (Irving, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”). The quote explains how Ichabod appreciates the house that he is in and does not want to leave such a place. Nature,

The townspeople looked upon Ichabod as a foreigner and responded with opposition to his notions. For example, almost immediately upon his arrival, he took a dead corpse and performed an autopsy, something that was unheard of during this time period. He remained dedicated to his work, but had a hostile, almost mysterious way about him.

The short story I have chosen to read by Washington Irving is 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.'; This story takes place in a little village on the Hudson River which by some is called Greensburgh, but which is more generally known as Tarry Town. The main character in the story, Ichabod Crane, who 'tarried'; in Sleepy Hollow came about for the purpose of instructing the children of the vicinity. The main point of the story began with the arrival of a Negro with an invitation to Ichabod to attend a party at the Van Tassel's mansion. After receiving the good news, Ichabod fixed up his best and only suit and borrowed a horse from Hans Van Ripper, in order to impress Mynheer Van Tassel's daughter, Katrina. He did so

?The Legend of Sleepy Hollow? is a short story by Washington Irving. Based on a well-known legend, this story tells the tale of the disappearance of the main character, Ichabod Crane. An effective ghost story, Irving leaves you guessing what the truth is behind the ending. The movie Sleepy Hollow is Hollywood?s portrayal of Irving?s original story. Although the movie is similar to the story in the beginning, the movie takes a twist that leads in another direction that strays far from the original plot.

Sleepy Hollow is a gothic horror film directed by Tim Burton in 1999. It tells the story of when Ichabod Crane is sent to the isolated town of Sleepy Hollow to solve the mystery of the Headless Horseman. The isolated gloomy setting for example, when Ichabod Crane enters the town, the film techniques such as music and lighting such as when the Headless Horseman appears combined with characters that have supernatural powers including Catrina and Lady Van Tassel reinforces the idea that Sleepy Hollow is a gothic horror film.

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.

Ichabod loved marvellous things, and equally loved deciphering it. These had both grown because of the region he was currently staying in.No tale was too big or crazy for him to digest. After the school day ended, he enjoyed to relax on the riverbed of clover that bordered the brook that traveled by his schoolhouse. There he would read over Mather’s book, until it got to dark out for him to see the words. As he would stroll home to the place he was being quartered, every little noise of a plant or animal would catch his attention. Some of these were the moan of the

To begin with, Washington Irving uses imagery to clearly illustrate the story’s development, immersing the reader into what is happening and causing them to feel suspense as they walk through various events together with Ichabod. For example, as Ichabod returns home from the party, Irving portrays his horrifying surroundings, describing Ichabod as a solitary figure in the “dead hush of

These qualities are displayed in Ichabod’s first scene when he is in New York and talking to his superiors after arresting a man, “I beg pardon. But why am I the only one who can see that to solve crimes, we must use our brains, assisted by reason, using up-to-date scientific techniques?” During this scene he is in court arguing with the judge as he does not agree with how they imprison people without evidence and believes that they have to adopt the latest techniques to solve crimes. In this scene Burton uses a close up shot to capture the look on Ichabod face as he is fighting for what is morally right and is not frightened by the repercussions. He also positions the judge higher up than Ichabod to show that he is more powerful and the judge’s voice is loud to show that he is of authority and could decide what happens to Ichabod. Ichabod starts out as a coward as he is scared of blood and does not believe the cries of the townspeople about the horseman but as the story goes on he develops courage and tries to stop the horseman and this is why he is good. He comes to the rescue of Katrina van Tassel when she is kidnapped by Lady van Tassel even though he knows he has to stop the Horseman from getting her and the Horseman being considerably stronger than

In preparation for the party at the Van Tassel mansion, Ichabod takes extra time to get ready, wears his best clothes, and even borrows a horse in order to attempt a noble and valiant façade. But, Ichabod’s foolish and strange appearance can never be disguised. Not only was the broken-down horse a pathetic sight to be seen, but Ichabod’s clumsily large stature overtook it in the most ridiculous of ways. “He rode with short stirrups, which brought his knees nearly up to the pommel of the saddle; his sharp elbows stuck out like grasshoppers’…and, as his horse jogged on, the motion of his arms was not unlike the flapping of a pair of wings” (Irving 5). There is nothing glorious or particularly attractive about Ichabod’s physical presence, which is the initial indication of his incompetence to fulfill the role of hero. His physical appearance exudes weakness and vulnerability, and it should not come as a surprise that his personality matches his anti-heroic appearance.

Ichabod’s personality does not quite relate precisely from the book to the movie. He is a self-assured smart man in the story that always knows what he is doing. Unlike his written character, Burton’s Ichabod faints frequently and never seems to know what he is doing. Ichabod Crane is two different people in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Sleepy Hollow.